Why the rush for autopsy? - MP suspects foul play in West Hills Mall murder investigation

The Member of Parliament of Jomoro, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, has suspected foul play in the handling of the murder investigation of the late Shadrach Arloo.

Shadrach is said to have died after allegedly being manhandled by some personnel of the Ghana Police Service at West Hills Mall.

According to her, the police and family of Shadrach Arloo had agreed that the autopsy to ascertain the cause of death would be done by the pathologist of the police with the doctor of the family present.

She added that to her surprise and that of the family, the autopsy was done without the doctor of the family being present.

“…the (police) pathologist explained to us the procedure and how the whole thing (the autopsy) was going to be done and that he was going to do the autopsy. That was when the family was not comfortable, they were very uncomfortable. So, they (the family) will rather have their own doctor to be present.

“And so, it was agreed that they (the police) will allow them (the family) to bring their own doctor… but the doctor we arranged could not be there… So, the last conversation was that because the doctor could not be present, the autopsy had to be postponed only to hear that it was done yesterday because the pathologist from the police service was travelling.

“If he was travelling, what was the urgency, what was the rush, they should have waited until the family was okay,” she said in a JoyNews interview on Tuesday, February 8, 2023, which was monitored by GhanaWeb.

She added that the claim by the police that the family agreed that the autopsy should be done by only their pathologist is not true.

The Jomoro MP said that the autopsy report, if it is even accurate, does not exonerate the police officers who were present as the victim was being tortured.

She called on the IGP, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, to take action immediately and ensure that the police officers involved are duly punished.

Background

Perpetual Didier, a gospel musician, alleged that some police officers murdered her brother at the West Hills Mall in Accra, on January 30, 2022.

She explained that her 32-year-old brother was brutally assaulted by the uniformed policemen, leading to his untimely death, and for this reason, she wanted the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to act.

“Someone should tag the IGP. I need justice for my brother. Tell him that this is a crime one of his men has done to my family by killing my brother. We are all Ghanaians with equal rights and freedom. Why will you use your position to take someone’s life?” she said in her Facebook Live video, amidst tears.

The police, after their investigation on the death of Shadrach Arloo, released a detailed statement which said that their findings showed that the policeman in question, did no wrong.

The statement, dated February 7, 2023, said that the late brother of gospel musician Perpetual Didier resisted arrest by a police officer on duty who was being assisted by private security guards at the scene.

The statement furthered that the deceased, after swallowing the package, became unconscious and was taken to the Sonotech Clinic for medical attention but was pronounced dead on arrival.

It added that per a post-mortem examination conducted on the deceased and in the presence of as many witnesses from the deceased’s family and other officials, including MP Dorcas Affo-Toffey, it was confirmed that the cause of death was Asphyxiation and Obstruction of the airway by a foreign body.

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