Police refute claims of forcing accused persons to re-enact protest at 37 intersection

Zadok Kwame Gyesi Oct - 07 - 2024 , 12:28

The police have said it is untrue that some accused persons involved in the 'Democracy Hub' street protest who are in custody were taken out and forced to re-enact their activities during the protest at the 37 intersection.

Lawyers of the accused persons in a statement shared on social media had alleged that the police made their clients to re-enact the protest at the 37 intersection.

However, the police in a statement dated Monday, October 7, 2024, said the claims by the lawyers of the accused persons standing trial for their conduct during the protest lack substance.

The police explained that the "Crime scene reconstruction, as part of an investigation, is a standard practice used by law enforcement agencies worldwide and is in full compliance with our established procedures" and that "The Ghana Police Service has been using this practice since time immemorial."

According to the police, "the Police detectives who conducted the crime scene reconstruction are part of the officers who have been working on the investigation since the inception of this case."

"The claims that they are not known to the accused persons are, therefore, not true," the police statement said.

The police explained that "In accordance with standard procedures, the accused persons were informed of their right to have legal representation during the crime scene reconstruction process."

The statement further said "some of the accused persons opted to take part in the crime scene reconstruction process without their lawyers' presence" and that "other accused persons, however, insisted on their right to their lawyers and the reconstruction process for these persons is yet to be done."

According to the police, "It is, therefore, untrue, that the accused persons were coerced or threatened with harm, to take part in the crime scene reconstruction."

For the police, several attempts have been made since this incident by the organisers of the protest to feed the public with falsehood, including the arrest of a 12-year-old child and a pregnant woman, all in the bid to create disaffection towards the Police.

"We see this one, as one of such attempts, and we urge the public to disregard it," the police stated.