[ 2012-07-10 ]

Police Murder Innocent Man…Exhibit His Body And Claim He Is An Armed Robber
The bereaved family of the late Kwaku Asante, who
cops took for an armed robber and was shot dead
last Saturday night, has countered the claim by
the police that the deceased was an armed robber.

The police claim Asante engaged the police in a
shoot out from their (armed robbers) hide out, and
died in the cross fire, but the family say it is
not true that their relation was an armed robber.

Pastor Prince Appiagyei Brempong, spokesman of the
family, said around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night,
word came in that a terrorist group from Aboabo
was about to attack the people of Sawaba, and as
it was the practice of this “Al-Qaeeda” group to
attack the residents of Sepe-Timpom, the Assembly
Member, Anokye Frimpong ,alerted the Asawase
Police Commander.

He said, unknown to the Assembly Member, someone
had also made a distress call to the Buffalo Unit,
which deployed a team to the area, at Sepe-Timpom,
where the people had readied themselves for the
attackers.

Pastor Prince, as he is known, further explained
that on arriving at Sepe-Timpom, the Buffalo
patrol team met the Assembly Member and a crowd,
who were waiting for the Asawase police to come to
their rescue, in case the terrorists attacked.

According to the spokesman, hardly had the Buffalo
team arrived than they fired warning shots and
searched through the crowd to handpick the
deceased, who was behind the Assembly Member.

The spokesman said the police dragged Asante
through the crowd, shot him several times, and
also inflicted cutlass wounds on his body, before
dumping it in their vehicle.

He said soon after the unfortunate killing, the
Asawase Police Commander and his men also arrived
at the scene, but rather too late.

Pastor Prince has denied that the people the
police encountered at Sepe-Timpom were engaged in
a shoot out, and neither were they in a hide out,
as the police want the world to believe.

The spokesman has petitioned the Inspector-General
of Police (IGP) and the Ashanti Regional Minister
to cause full scale investigations into the murder
of Asante, a 24-year-old electrician, at
Sepe-Timpom in Kumasi.

It would help unravel the circumstances that led
to the killing of the boy by the police without
any provocation.

The youth of the town have since the incident
protested against the killing of Asante by the
police, but the Deputy Police Public Relations
Officer, Corporal Godwin Ahianyo, wants the youth
to produce evidence of Asante’s innocence.

Three other people, Kwadwo Isaac, 34, Nicholas
Amoah, 20, and Peter Rai, 20, who were also
arrested, are helping the police in their
investigation.

Meanwhile, Anokye Frimpong has collaborated the
position of the bereaved family, and said the
deceased was not a known criminal, let alone, be a
“notorious armed robber” as was claimed.

He said an enquiry into the death would bring out
the truth surrounding the death of Asante. Mr.
Anokye Frimpong said the claim by the police was
false and an afterthought of the unfortunate
killing of the late electrician without any
cause.

The Assembly Member, who is yet to give a written
statement to the police, says he can identify the
police man who shot the deceased at close range in
the crowd.

The Chronicle has gathered that the Ashanti police
Commander has, after a meeting with the bereaved
family, Assembly member and senior police officers
on Monday, come to the realisation that the police
erred in killing Asante, because there was no
gunshots which might have provoked the police to
fire back and kill Asante.

Source - Ghanaian Chronicle

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