Soldiers Brutalise Police

Soldiers from the Fourth Garrison in Kumasi have gone on rampage, brutalizing more than a dozen police officers at various duty posts in Kumasi metropolis and leaving three of them unconscious.

In their two-day assault, the soldiers also vandalized property at some police stations and caused some police officers to flee their duty posts.

According to Chief Inspector Yusif Mohammed Tanko in charge of the Public Affairs Directorate of the Ashanti Region Police Command, the series of attacks began at the Cedar Crescent traffic lights, near the Kotoko training ground, about 4pm on Friday, June 4.

He said the traffic lights were off at the time and so two policemen, Constable Abass Aidoo and David Wahyee, had been detailed to direct traffic at that busy joint. While the two were on duty, a man riding an unregistered motorcycle without a crash helmet came along and the two policemen stopped the motorcycle and questioned the rider, who later identified himself as a military.

According to the police, in the course of the interrogation, the rider got infuriated and sped off, after he had threatened to bring his colleagues to assault the policemen.

Chief Inspector Tanko said about 5pm on the same day, three other policemen - Inspector Jacob Gyekye, Lance Corporal Opoku Agyemang Prempeh and Constable Hannah Serwah who were directing traffic at the Bekwai Roundabout saw a number of military men in a military vehicle which had its headlights on.

Thinking that the soldiers were on their way to perform an official duty, the policemen paved the way for them to pass by stopping other vehicles.However, the soldiers attacked any policeman on sight, including the three at the Bekwai roundabout who had earlier stopped traffic for the soldiers to pass.

The three policemen reported the incident to the Regional Police Headquarters, where they were issued with medical forms to attend hospital 5:45pm. Chie Inspector Tanko said about 7pm, some military men at the Sofoline area assaulted another policeman, Lance Corporal C.K.Mensah, stationed at Nkawie, while he was driving to his station.

That same night, a group of military men in three military vehicles attacked policemen at the Suame Police Station and vandalized their radio equipment and other property, while Corporal G.K. Amedzo, Constable E. Ofosuhene and Constable F.O. Boateng who were on duty at the station were severely assaulted.