The Ghana Police Service has acknowledged that there should have been a better way to deal with the incident at Kumasi Islamic Senior High School.
According to the service, a more considered strategy may have resulted in a lot more visible resolution to the chaos rather than the development observed in the Ashanti Region on Monday.
As a result, several top police officials in the area have been charged, including the Deputy Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kwasi Akomeah-Apraku, who has been removed.
During the chaos, he was functioning as the Ashanti Regional Police Commander.
Two more police officers were arrested to allow for further investigations.
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About 25 students were hospitalized after police reportedly used tear gas on them as they were protesting frequent pedestrian accidents in front of the school.
During the demonstration, the victims were alleged to be members of a gang of students that blocked the Abrepo Junction-Barekese road.
The enraged students had gathered on the road in protest, calling for the erection of speed ramps on that stretch of road.
Sommit Duut, Regional Director of the National Ambulance Service, stated that all of the casualties were responding to treatment.
He did, however, emphasize that they did not treat any serious injury, such as gunshot wounds. Instead, he claims that the students had respiratory difficulty.
Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), later visited the school to learn more about the incident firsthand.
The visit was part of the Police administration’s ongoing investigations.
After his visit, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare informed students and school management that he would investigate the actions of police personnel deployed for crowd control during the demonstration.
While speaking to the students, the IGP stated that an investigation will be performed to ensure that the appropriate action is taken.
The preliminary report was issued last night. The statement signed by Police Director of Public Affairs, Grace Ansah-Akrofi explained 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.”
Aside from the removal of the Deputy Regional Commander, two additional officers were interdicted to allow for a full investigation: the Regional Operations Officer, ACP George Ankccnah, and the Suame Divisional Police Commander, ACP Alex Cudjoe Acquah.
Furthermore, the press statement stated that the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) has taken up the issue and has begun a full-scale investigation into the actions of the officers responsible for the Police response.
According to the statement, clinical psychologists have also been sent to help the student body.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Education has initiated its own probe into Monday’s mayhem.
SOURCE: myjoyonline
