Policeman mistaken for armed robber; shot and killed by patrol team
Lance Corporal Robert Kumi Ackah of the Tamale Rapid Deployment Force, was said to have been mistaken to be an armed robber by his colleagues and killed |
A police patrol team on Sunday dawn allegedly shot and killed a
police officer who was escorting an 'OA' passenger bus to the Northern
region.
Identified as Lance Corporal Robert Kumi Ackah of the Tamale Rapid
Deployment Force, he was said to have been mistaken to be an armed
robber by his colleagues and killed near Dawadawa, on the Buipe-Kintampo
stretch of the highway.
The OA bus, with registration number GE 6402-14, he was escorting was
heading towards the north and encountered armed robbers on the road
between Buipe and Kintampo.
Bus driver’s narration
According to the bus driver, Eric Lawson who narrated the incident on
Accra based radio station, Okay FM, when they got to the spot, they
were told some armed men had blocked the road between Kawampe and
Gulumpe, and they saw a number of vehicles had parked.
He said Lance Corporal Ackah, who was armed with an AK 47 but was in
mufti went out of the bus and fired warning shots. When he saw the
robbers fleeing, he asked the bus driver to do a u-turn and move towards
safety until reinforcement arrived.
Whilst moving, a police patrol team was said to have arrived and so
the escorting officer asked the driver to do another turn and follow the
patrol vehicle closely.
When they got to the robbery scene, where the road had been blocked,
the escorting officer went out of the bus and moved towards the patrol
vehicle, but according to the driver, before he got close, the patrol
vehicle moved ahead and so Lance Corporal Ackah waited at where the road
block was and fired warning shots.
The patrol officers then turned and on reaching the scene, they were said to have fired at their colleague.
Police version
Meanwhile according to the police, the patrol team, which had
responded to a distress call on the Kintampo-Buipe highway, gunned down
Lance Corporal Ackah because of mistaken identity.
Police preliminary investigations revealed that at about 2.30am, a
patrol team on Kintampo - Buipe highway had information that some armed
men had blocked the road between Kawampe and Gulumpe.
The team proceeded to the scene and saw about 20 cars parked
alongside the road, according to a police SITREP [situational report],
seen by the Daily Graphic.
They were said to have maneuverer to the scene where the armed
robbers and the robbers reportedly opened fire on the patrol team.
The team also returned fire immediately and bypassed the scene to a distance and turned back to the scene.
At the scene, they spotted someone in mufti with a riffle standing in the mist of the passengers who were lying down.
The patrol team were said to have mistakenly took him to be a robber and shot him in the thigh, the SITREP said.
After some minutes, the O. A. driver by name Eric Lawson with
registration number GE 6402-14 approached the patrol team and informed
them that they heard of the robbery and parked at a distance but their
police escort proceeded to the scene of the robbery and identified the
escort who was mistakenly shot by the team as their escort they are
moving with.
Injured
The policeman and three others namely, 8-year-old Cynthia Ayaab,
Kwabena Sarfo, 44 and Gurusom Bashiru, 28 were sent to Kintampo Hospital
but the policeman died on arrival.
The body has been deposited at the hospital morgue whilst the injured are receiving treatment.
The Police further combed the area to find out if anybody had been wounded or shot dead but to no avail.
The police said 11 empty AA cartridges were found at the scene, one
AK riffle with the number 172194 and 34 ammunitions were also retrieved.
Source: Graphic.com.gh
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