Policemen implicated in death of AWA Engineer facing service inquiry

Police officers implicated in the death of a 34-year-old Aeronautic Engineer with the African World Airline are facing service inquiry for acting unprofessionally.

Prince Kwabena Kumi was assaulted and allegedly shot dead in a bush near a Police checkpoint at Akyem Oda in the Eastern region. The body was discovered after a search was mounted by his family who had gone days without hearing from him.

The deceased was en route from Accra to Akyem Asuboa to celebrate the Easter Holidays with his family.

His family later found his car parked at the Police station looking washed up with the mobile phone of the deceased and items bought for the family still in the car.

They believed the deceased was brutalized and shot dead by the Police given that Police did not give tangible reasons why the car was impounded without detaining the deceased if he committed road traffic offence as the Police claimed.

The family petitioned the IGP over the matter but the Police personnel at Akroso absolved themselves of blame in Prince Kwabena Kumi’s death, saying they impounded the latter’s car as he was drunk and allowed him to continue his journey on a commercial vehicle and told him to report back later to the police.

But the Director of Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) COP Nathan Kofi Boakye told the media at a briefing that the police officers who accosted the deceased are under investigation by the Police Service.

“The police officers who accosted the man initially who allowed him to go are facing service inquiry. Why, if a policeman accosts somebody driving, the first thing is that the man should be arrested and charged with drink driving. You cannot say that you’re collecting the car and allow the man to go. Therefore after investigations by PIPS it was recommended that the policeman who accosted the deceased first, and his station officer misconducted themselves professionally and so they are undergoing service inquiry.”