Cop Guns Down Chainsaw Operation

A TRIGGER-HAPPY police officer has taken the Kyekyewere community in the Afigya-Kwabre district of the Ashanti region by surprise with the killing of a 37-year-old man in a nearby bush.

Samuel Tawiah snuffed out the life of Akwasi Addai by shooting him at close range after arresting the victim for an illegal chainsaw operation.

Stationed at the Kyekyewere Police Station, the cop shot Addai on the afternoon of August 19, 2012, following a brief argument that ensued between him and the victim.

Yaw Brako, a witness in the case, who was in the company of the victim, said Addai as a result of obvious frustration and fear, raised his voice at the police officer which did not seem like a big deal.

But the cop threatened to blow off his head, and carried out the threat by shooting him at close range, killing him instantly.

Officer Tawiah reportedly took the two chainsaw operators about a mile away from where he arrested them before gunning down Akwasi Addai, the witness recounted.

An Offinso Magistrate Court where the accused police officer is standing trial has since remanded him to police custody to re-appear on September 26, 2012.

Until his untimely death, Addai, a father of three was the breadwinner for his family, his father Opanin Benjamin Okyere told DAILY GUIDE outside the court premises.

According to him, Addai and his colleague Brako were contracted by a maize farmer to produce wood for his shed.

But as they were sawing the tree, Samuel Tawiah together with another person in mufti, arrived at the scene and ordered them to stop. Afterwards he told them they had been arrested for illegal chainsaw operation.

Opanin Okyere narrated that while Akwasi Addai and his friend were begging for clemency, the police office became furious and threatened to kill them.

“My son went on his knees, but the police officer had asked them to leave him alone, and angered by the persistent begging, he shot Addai,” Opanin Okyere said.

Yaw Brako told the paper his friend died instantly and “they subsequently escaped with the machine without attending to my friend.”

The victim’s sister, Adwoa Serwaa denied an allegation that her brother violently advanced toward the police officer.

“Addai is a calm non-violent person and this allegation that he was confrontational cannot be true,” she stressed.