A POLICE man believed to be a dispatch rider stationed at the Accra Central Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service is in trouble for allegedly assaulting and threatening to kill the Ashaiman Circuit Court judge, Tsatsu Seyeram Azumah.
The policeman, Constable Atsu with service number 41808, allegedly opened the driver’s side of the judge’s car and commanded him to alight from his car.
The policeman further hurled insults at the judge for allegedly committing a traffic offence.
He was said to have referred to the quiet judge as a foolish, stupid, senseless man, and reportedly poked his finger into the judge’s eyes for failing to stop immediately he was flagged down at the inner lane of the Accra-Tema Motorway roundabout.
He was reported to have threatened to kill Justice Azumah and added that “even the Inspector General of Police (IGP) cannot do anything to me. I am a policeman and I know how to use the rifle. If you dare me I will shoot you like an armed robber; this is my service number, you can go to any place of your choice to report me if you want.”
According to some eyewitnesses, not even the judges’ disclosure of his identity could calm the policeman.
Atsu, who was riding a motorbike with registration number 2773 GP, was said to have been offended as he went on to describe the judge in unprintable words.
Narrating his version of the incident, the judge told DAILY GUIDE that on January 2, 2012 at about 8:30am, while heading towards Michel Camp on the Tema-Akosombo road, he was stopped by Constable Atsu as he drove in the inner lane of the Tema Motorway roundabout.
He noted that he declined to stop immediately because it could cause an accident.
“Looking at the situation and the area, I decided to park just immediately after the roundabout and heading towards my destination, when Atsu, together with his colleague police dispatch rider, arrived on their motorbikes,” he explained.
The judge, who said he felt intimidated, noted that Atsu haughtily opened the door of his car, removed a sensor and ordered him to alight from the car, adding that Atsu was at the time calling for a tow truck with his Motorola communication gadget.
“When I enquired what my offence was, Atsu asked me to shut up and comply,” the judge told DAILY GUIDE.
“I was traumatized and embarrassed by the conduct of the policeman and wondered why he behaved in the manner that he did, especially when I had not committed any traffic offence. Not even a plea from his own colleague to stop what he was doing could stop him, rather he clapped his hands and called other policemen to come and see the too known foolish judge”.
Judge Azumah remarked that he was humiliated by the policeman and without wasting much time, he reported the incident to the head of the Tema Regional MTTU at Community One, where the case is currently under investigation.
Superintendent Oduro Amening, Tema Regional MTTU Commander, when contacted, described the incident as “dirty, unprofessional and unfortunate” on the part of the dispatch rider.
He was of the view that a full scale investigation would be conducted to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident so as to ascertain if any action needed to be taken.
Superintendent Amening reiterated the need for policemen to take their code of ethics seriously since the incident that occurred could not be tolerated.
The police dispatch rider, according to investigations conducted by DAILY GUIDE, works at the Accra Central MTTU and it is unclear what he was doing at that spot at the time of the incident.
Meanwhile, a delegation from the Tema Regional MTTU, led by Superintendent Oduro Amening and the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Alfred Kwame Agbesi, reportedly called on Judge Tsatsu Seyeram Azumah to have the unfortunate incident resolved.
