14/06/2022
Islamic SHS shooting: Deputy
Regional Police Commander
removed, 2 Senior Officers interdicted
COP Kwasi Akomeah-Apraku, acting Deputy Ashanti
Regional Commander, has been removed from his
position following the shooting incident at the Islamic
Senior High School in Kumasi on Monday, June 13. He has been also interdicted together with two other
officers, ACP Mr George Ankomah, the Regional
Operations Officer and ACP Mr Alex Cudjoe Acquah,
the Suame Divisional Police Commander.
The latest information comes after the Inspector
General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, led a
team from the Police Headquarters in Accra to Kumasi
following the disturbances in the Senior High School
and assess the situation on the ground.
Portions of a statement issued and signed by Grace
Ansah-Akrofi, Chief Superintendent of Police and
Director, Public Affairs, said:
"It was further established that even though nobody
was hit by a bullet the Police handling of the incident
was poor and fell short of our standard operating
procedure on crowd control.
'"As a result, DCOP Kwesi Akomeah-Apraku who was
acting as the Regional Commander has been removed
from his position and has been interdicted. "Two other officers, ACP Mr George Ankomah, the
Regional Operations Officer and ACP Mr Alex Cudjoe
Acquah, the Suame Divisional Police Commander have
also been interdicted to make way for a thorough
investigation into the matter."
The Ghana Police Service admitted that a better
approach to tackling the riot at Kumasi Islamic Senior
High School could have been employed.
The Service noted that a more calculated tactic could
have led to a much salient resolution to the chaos and
not the development that was seen in the Ashanti
Region on Monday.
Background
About 25 students were hospitalised after Police
allegedly opened tear gas on them while they were
protesting frequent crashes of pedestrians in front of
the School.The victims were said to be part of a group of students
who blocked the Abrepo Junction-Barekese road
during the protest.
Sources say the Police personnel were deployed to the
School to maintain law and order.
The angry students massed up on the road in protest,
as they called for the construction of speed ramps on
that section of the road.
Ambulance Service
The National Ambulance Service has pegged the
number of victims admitted to hospital, at 25.Regional Director of the Service, Sommit Duut, says all
the victims are responding to treatment.
He, however, stressed that they have not treated any
traumatic injury like that of gunshot wounds. According
to him, the students rather suffered respiratory distress.
"All that we treated were just difficulty in breathing and
people who were exhausted - we didn't have any
bloody situation.
