I’ve lost hope in police, says ‘assaulted’ taxi driver

Kwabena Danso, the taxi driver in the dreadful incident of alleged police brutality at Anyaa in Accra in which he was allegedly stripped naked by a policeman, has condemned the hierarchy of the Ghana Police Service for exonerating its officer whom he said treated him inhumanely.

According to him, the outcome of the police investigation into the misfortune that befell him was a charade.

Danso on May 2, 2017 was aggressively manhandled by Gabriel Tabiri, stationed at the Anyaa Police Station. Pictures of the incident went viral on social media.

Distraught by the news, first reported by StarrFMonline.com, the Inspector General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu, on May 3, 2017, ordered immediate investigations into the incident.

The police on Friday, May 12, 2017, challenged the veracity of the report of alleged police brutality in the Anyaa incident.

According to the outcome of the investigation, the taxi driver stripped himself naked in his bid to avoid arrest.

The findings read in part that: “The taxi driver drove through a red light at Anyaa Market Junction on May 2, 2017.

“The taxi driver resisted lawful arrest, struggled with arresting officer, tearing his own trousers and dress to free himself from the grip of the arresting officer. The taxi driver assaulted the police officer in uniform as corroborated by witnesses.”

However, in his reaction to the outcome of the investigation on Friday, May 12, 2017, in an interview on ‘Starr Midday News’ on Starr FM, Danso said he was extremely disappointed by the turn of events.

“Now I know that there is no truth in this country,” he told Kweku Obeng Adjei,, the host of ‘Starr Midday News’, adding, “I have lost hope.”

Background

A policeman stationed at the Anyaa police station allegedly accosted the taxi driver at a fuel station after he had allegedly jumped the light and allegedly ended up tearing apart his clothing.

“Frequent users of that Anyaa stretch of the highway know that particular traffic light is faulty. It is usually on amber or switches to red and within a blink of an eye it turns green, then amber then red,” Danso explained to Starrfmonline.com and this has been corroborated by drivers who use that road often.

“I was surprised the police officer came all the way to the filling station and said I was under arrest. I explained to him that the light doesn’t work and it’s a fact and even pointed it to him, but he insisted I have flouted traffic regulations.”