Thursday , March 28 2024

GHANA POLICE FORCE TURN BRUTALITY AND INTIMIDATION FORCE

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo has the vision of moving Ghana beyond aid, but some actions of citizens are trying so hard for it to be in vain.

Security officers are known to be well trained to ensure a safe environment and prevent violence in the country. They are seen to be the people that citizens can run to for safety whenever there is harm. Hence, if those we run to for safety tend to assault us then where else, whom should we run to for security when danger arises.

Where from this sudden attitude being adopted by some security personnel?

Police officers are to serve as guardian angels in order to protect citizens who happen to be in danger. They are to stand firm to protect and defend every citizen in the cause of trouble. But then, their conduct nowadays tends to be brutality and intimidation more than the protection of civilians in the country.

Police brutality, according to the law dictionary is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by the police when dealing with civilians. “Excessive use of force”, means a force well beyond what would be necessary in order to handle a situation.

It is common for most citizens to know the specific work of the police. However, the police are to make clean, put in order, to guard, to defend, protect and patrol, not to brutalize, abuse and intimidate civilians.

It is so sad and a heartbreak when you listen to the news on how some security persons are brutalizing Ghanaians, thereby creating a scene for the country to be seen as a banana republic. This inappropriate conduct of some policemen has become a banner hanged all over social media which is tarnishing the image of the profession and the country as a whole.

Just a week ago, seven men alleged to be criminals were killed by a team of personnel from Ashanti regional police, SWAT unit at Poano near Anhwiakwanta on the Kumasi-Obuasi road which is now a serious issue with the Zongo community in Kumasi, yet to be resolved.

They were believed to belong to a gang who killed the late Lance Corporal Daniel Tieku of the SWAT unit on June 11, 2018 in one of their operations were said to have attempted to open fire on the police as they approached them.

Countless incidents of police assaulting civilians have occurred in the country but this year is exclusive.

On the 16th of June, 2018, a 22year old pregnant woman by name Ama Agyemang was totured and brutalized by a policeman leaving her to battle for her life at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

Early January, an actress with the name Lydia Forson was assaulted by so-called national security personnel threatened to shoot and beat her in front of a police, after abusing her and several others on a movie set.

As these cases were still rolling, another similar assault was sighted at Papaye in Osu/Abeka Lapaz where a security guard was pushing a lady violently away from the premises. During these incident people who come to the scene instead of preventing the action they will rather be filming it and sharing it across.

The current incident hitting Ghanaians so hard is a video of a policeman who had been stationed at the Midland Savings and Loans Company, Shiashie branch, near Legon in the Greater Accra Region, mercilessly assaulting a nursing mother called Patience Osafo who demanded her deposit last Thursday.

However, due to inadequate jobs and a huge number of unemployment cases in the country, youth nowadays join the security force in order to fend for themselves. There is no passion and affection in whatever they are doing.

Many of these men in uniform claiming to be national security workers do not even understand the concept in their field of training. They have no understanding that they are being paid by those taxpayers and citizens whom they brutalize and intimidate.

Ghana Police are probably ignorant of the laws and therefore work with laws which are not really the laws. It is so absurd that those who are purposely placed to uphold the law continue to abuse and violate it in such large scales.

Our police officers abused and brutalized civilians just anyhow because they think they are not accountable to any one, not even the law.

There should be Implementations made on any police officer who abuses and violates the law which they supposed to protect. The way the police treat civilians must be properly addressed rather than being ignorant.

Police officers as well as the national security personnel are great embarrassment to the freedom and justice of our great country.

 

Story By: Augustina Tetteh& Marcia Yeboah/ pinkfmonlinegh.com

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