Police on manhunt for driver who fatally ran over cop
The Police are on a manhunt for a commercial bus driver who allegedly ran over and killed a police officer at East Legon while escaping from arrest on Friday.
While the conductor (mate) of the bus is in the custody of the Legon police, the driver, Bonsu Osei, is still on the run 72 hours after his alleged hit-and-run offence.
Trotro driver fatally knocks down policeman to escape arrest
Providing details of the incident, the Accra Regional Police Command in a statement, signed by its Public Relations Officers, DSP Afia Tenge, said the incident happened at about 9 am on Friday when Bonsu was driving towards Bawaleshie along the University of Professional Studies road in Accra, with two people on board the vehicle.
“On reaching a section of the road in front of the Trinity Theological Seminary, he was intercepted by G/SGT Moses Appiah and one other officer of Madina MTTD for soliciting for passengers, unauthorised parking and obstruction of other road users at Madina Zongo Junction, where they were being pursued,” the statement said.
When the vehicle stopped, Sergeant Appiah stood in front of it and ordered the driver to come down. It would become his last instruction in police uniform.
“… without any provocation, the driver became furious and ran his vehicle over the police officer who got trapped under the vehicle. He then dragged the police officer on the ground to a distance about 54.50 metres, injuring him severely,” it said.
With the police officer disengaged from the car, Bonsu fled the scene with the vehicle only to abandon it later.
Doctors at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra declared the policeman dead on arrival.
While the police have deposited the body of the deceased officer at the Police Hospital Morgue, for preservation and autopsy, the Ford Transit bus with registration number NO GR4880-20 has since been impounded and is at the Legon Police station.
MTTD Police officers killed in 2019
This is not the first time a police officer on a road traffic duty has been attacked or killed by a civilian.
March 2019
In March 2019, a viral video showed a driver and his mate in a brawl with a police officer, Constable Julius Mawuli Ekpe, on the Mallam-Kasoa road in Accra.
The police arrested the two on March 18, 2019, four days after the incident, and processed them for court.
The driver claimed Constable Ekpe had assaulted him and his mate and that they fought back after being subjected to an unjustified attack. The court fined them, rejecting their claims of self-defence.
August 1, 2019
On August 1, 2019, unknown armed men shot and killed a policewoman at a checkpoint on the Tamale-Kumbungu road in the Sagnarigu District in the Northern Region.
August 28, 2019
On August 28, 2019, Police officers, General Sergeant (G/Sgt) Michael Dzamasi and General Lance Corporal Awal Mohammed, were shot and killed when they pursued an unregistered vehicle that took off after they stopped it. The team had intercepted the unregistered blue-black tinted glass Toyota Camry driven by one Duah, who was later arrested in the Volta Region.
September 13, 2019
An MTTD police officer, Inspector Foster Ampomah, met his untimely death on September 13, 2019, when a DAF truck, with registration number GE 7562-14, ran over him. The driver allegedly ignored a signal from the policeman to stop.
The incident occurred at a checkpoint at Nante Zongo along the Kintampo-Jema highway in the Bono East Region.
The rate at which hit and is going on Ghana, gorvement have to take the second look at it. Also I would plead with the Ghana police service to educate his men that, the shouldn’t in any way stand in the middle of the road if the stop driver nor want to talk to a driver. Some drivers are mad like please some police men. But please deal with the driver if arrested.