Three cops arrested for assault in Kumasi

Three cops in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region have been arrested and detained on the orders of the regional police command.

The officers allegedly assaulted a taxi driver for reportedly flouting road traffic regulation.

The driver, 41-year-old Nana Poku, who operates from the Anloga Junction taxi rank, was physically abused by the plain-clothed officers on April 10 this year.

Investigations into the incident did not yield any result until it was reported to Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander ACP Ampofo Duku, who called for the immediate arrest and detention of the officers.

Confirming the arrest to Class News, Mr Duku said no one was above the law. “What informed this arrest was that as Ghanaians, we are all equal before the law and, so, if a civilian commits an offence like an unwarranted assault on somebody, the police go in and arrest that somebody and detain him for investigation. [In the] same way, if the policeman does it and he is also reported, then we also take him through the due process of the law just like we do any citizen of the land. That is why when it came to my notice that three policemen assaulted a driver for no apparent reason, I called for their arrest and detention. So, that is what informed that decision,” he stated.

Mr Duku said should the officers be found culpable after investigations, they would be arraigned before court. “If they are found guilty (sic), they can be prosecuted. Once they have been arrested and then detained and the situation report has been sent to Accra to inform the Inspector General of Police (IGP), I don’t think the IGP will shield any policeman who goes on his way to intimidate civilians at the least provocation. So, if they are found culpable, they will be put before court with permission from headquarters,” he noted.