'Trigger-happy' policeman referred to Psychiatric Hospital

A policeman has been referred to the Psychiatric Hospital after he had gone berserk and, in the process, fired shots at a man while on guard duties at the residence of Mr Boakye Agyarko, a former Minister of Energy, at the Ashongman Estate.

The policeman, identified as Lance Corporal Peter Hammond Arkosah of the National Protection Unit of the Ghana Police Service, is said to have been behaving abnormally when he reported for duty last Sunday, February 9, 2020.

Gunshots

The victim, who sustained gunshots wounds on his back, was first rushed to the Community Hospital at Ashongman but was transferred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, where he is said to be responding to treatment.

A highly placed police source told the Daily Graphic that about 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon when L/Cpl Arkosah arrived at the former Energy Minister’s house for his guard duties, he started kicking at objects and would not sit nor respond to queries from the house boy.

The house boy, sensing that all was not well with the policeman, ran to a neighbour’s house and sought his assistance to talk to L/Cpl Arkosah for him to stop misbehaving.

Shooting

However, when the neighbour, who is yet to be identified, entered Mr Agyarko’s house, he saw L/Cpl Arkosah wielding an AK47 rifle, ready to shoot. The neighbour, according to the source, on seeing the dire situation in the house, decided not to enter and so he turned round and took to his heels, but L/Cpl Arkosah started firing shots at him.

One of the bullets hit the neighbour at the back and he fell down.

At that stage, the house boy called the police emergency lines and a police patrol team from the Kwabenya District Police Command was quickly dispatched to the scene to bring the situation under control.

The scene

On arrival at the scene, the police patrol team managed to disarm L/Cpl Arkosah, after which they took him to the Kwabenya Police Station, where he was placed in custody. The victim, on the other hand, was first rushed to the Community Hospital at Ashongman, from where he was referred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for further treatment.

A follow-up visit to the hospital showed that the victim was in a stable condition, with X-ray results on him showing that no bullet was lodged in his body, neither was any of his internal organs affected.

Police sources also confirmed that the service rifle, three rounds of ammunition and five spent shells had been retrieved from L/Cpl Arkosah and handed over to the Commander of the National Protection Unit, Chief Superintendent of Police Mr Raymond Adofiem, who took him to the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.