The Police have launched an investigation into a troubling viral video showing a Police officer dragging a suspect on the floor during an arrest in Dadease, near Kumawu in the Ashanti Region.
Upon the video’s appearance, the concerned Police officer has been swiftly detained and subsequently placed on interdiction while the investigation is ongoing.
To address the gravity of the situation, the Inspector-General of Police has taken immediate action by dispatching a team from the Ashanti North Regional Police Command to meet with the victim’s family.
Furthermore, the Inspector-General personally reached out to the victim’s mother over the phone to provide reassurance that a thorough and unbiased investigation will be conducted into the incident.
Police assault in Ghana
In March 2019, a distressing incident occurred in Accra Central, where three journalists from the Ghanaian Times newspaper were subjected to assault by 10 police officers. The assault took place as the journalists were filming the police officers’ wrong practices.
The journalists had captured on camera a traffic offence and an accident involving a police officer using an unregistered motorcycle. The police officers became agitated and unhappy that the journalists were attempting to document the accident.
As a result, the police officers launched a physical attack on the journalists, causing severe injuries. Malik Sullemana, a court reporter, Raissa Sambou, a general reporter, and Salifu Abdul Rahman, an assistant editor, bore the brunt of the officers’ brute force. Two of them had to be taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
This incident sparked outrage among Ghanaians and sparked further discussions on the importance of press freedom and the need to protect journalists’ rights in the country.