Police, Krofrom youth clash over autopsy report
Personnel of the Ashanti Regional Police Command Tuesday fired several canisters of tear gas to disperse more than 500 angry youth of Krofrom (New Tafo), a suburb of Kumasi, for demonstrating against an autopsy report of a 27-year-old man.
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Richmond Osei, alias Osei Tawiah, died after he was allegedly brutalised by a team of policemen who mistook him to be an armed robber, last Thursday.
Autopsy report
The autopsy report made public by Dr Osei Sampane, Head of the Pathology Department of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, said Tawiah died of heart attack
But the youth believed the report was skewed to favour the police who, prior to the autopsy, had allegedly concluded that the boy died of a natural cause.
Reaction of youth
In a spontaneous reaction, the youth, clad in red and black attire, barricaded a section of the main road connecting the Suame roundabout to the Airport roundabout, threw missiles, smashed the windscreen of one of the patrol cars and chased the policemen out of the area.
A reinforced team from the regional police command reacted sharply with canisters of tear gas and warning shots, but the protesters did not budge.
Four of the youth who appeared confrontational were arrested and taken to the Central Police Station of the regional police headquarters for questioning.
Human activities virtually came to a standstill amid heavy human and vehicular traffic as hundreds of people stood on top of their roofs to watch the drama.
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Women wailed and invoked curses on the policemen who were alleged to have killed the man, calling on the Asante deity, Antoa, to ‘wipe them off the earth.’
The Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander, ACP Mr Ampofo Duku, led a team of police officers to calm the nerves of the irate youth.
Background
Last Thursday, Tawiah was reportedly attacked around 10p.m., after attending to the call of nature at a public toilet, by a team of policemen, who were searching for an armed robber.
An eyewitness said Tawiah was handcuffed without any provocation, brutalised and literally thrown into a waiting van.
In the process, his head hit a metal which caused a deep cut, with blood oozing profusely.
His condition reportedly worsened when he was taken to the police station and subsequently rushed to KATH, where he was allegedly pronounced dead on arrival.