Islamic SHS shooting: Train your officers in crowd control – Ken Agyapong tells IGP

Chairman of the Defense and Interior Committee of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong, has asked the Inspector General of Police to train his officers in crowd control.

This, in his view, will enable the officers determine when to, or not to use excessive force to control crowd.

The Assin Central lawmaker was speaking in interview with TV3’s Komla Kluste when he led a team to visit the Islamic Senior High School in Kumasi on Friday June 17, where the Police shooting incident took place on Monday June 13.

“The students whether they are right or not they exceeded their boundaries and overreacted. Same applies to the Police officers too, I think they also treated them like armed robbers, it was too much, they also exceeded their boundaries .

“We take a cue from what has happened to these students so that next time when Police are going out there, their team called crowd control, they should know the ages of the people that they are going to deal with.”

“If you see the students that were injured, the Police officers, no matter the reasons went too far. A girl that I sympathize with is a girl who can’t breath properly because they hit her head with a gun, that was too much for a girl, not even a boy and for that matter not a man or woman. So I will not be here to condemn anybody but I will pleaded with the Police High Command that next time they should take the crowd control unit to training and let them exercise patience,” he added.

Regarding this situation, the Dean of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, also called for a review of the training methodology for persons recruited into the Police service and other security agencies.

There is the need to thoroughly assess persons being recruited into the service, he said.

He was speaking in an interview with TV3.

Dr Antwi-Danso told TV3’s Judith Awortwi-Tandoh that “It is rather very unfortunate that year in, year out, virtually, consistently, crowd control always turns awry.

“There will be demonstrations, there will be riots but unfortunately most of our rioting end up with Police confrontation, it is bad. Recrafting the training methodologies is also important.

“What kind of people are we recruiting into the Police service or any other service? What kind of training are we giving them? Because crowd control, crowd dispersal and crisis management is a science, we need to learn it.”

Meanwhile, following the shooting on Monday, the Deputy Regional Commander in the Ashanti Region, DCOP Kwesi Akomea Apraku has been removed.

This was after the Inspector General of Police Dr George Akuffo Dampre led a team to the area to assess the situation.

Portions of a statement issued by the Police after the IGP’s visit said “It was further established 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.

“As a result, DCOP Kwesi Akomeah-Apraku who was acting as the Regional Commander has been removed from his position and has been interdicted. Two other officers, ACP Mr George Ankomah, the Regional Operations Officer and ACP Mr Alex Cudjoe Acquah, the Suame Divisional Police Commander have also been interdicted to make way for a thorough investigations into the matter.”

Over thirty students of the Islamic Senior High School were rushed to the hospital after the police allegedly fired tear gas and live bullets to disperse students who were demonstrating over incessant vehicular knockdown.

Worried parents stormed the school to demand for the release of their wards on Monday June 13.

The affected students were conveyed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) and other hospitals in Kumasi.

“I should be worried but some of them have been resituated . we will follow to the hospital and see how they are doing,” Madam Mary Owusu Afriyie, the Regional Education Director told journalists.