In 2014, Bridget Otoo stood in the spotlight as the host of 'You and the Police,' a television show that seamlessly blended her popularity, experience, and carefully crafted presentation to create a compelling program that not only attracted audiences but also served its intended purpose with distinction.
Her mission (and that of the program) was clear: bridge the gap between citizens and the men and women in blue or black uniforms, while helping the police protect the citizenry through enhanced police-public relations.
“I am passionate about the show,” she told The Mirror then, explaining that “it offers the public useful information about crime trends and tips that help the citizens to protect themselves from criminals.”
As every action has its consequence, Bridget Otoo, in accepting that challenge, willingly subjected herself to extremely perilous situations. Criminals exposed on her show didn't hold back, choosing instead to direct threats toward her. Despite being stalked, an unfazed Bridget refused to succumb, rather, she “told them to report to the police if they were guiltless.”
Like some Ghanaians, Bridget Otoo has been a victim of a robbery, as armed robbers reportedly attacked her cement business in 2021 - an unfortunate situation that led to her receiving a phone call from the Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, who sympathized with the broadcaster and her attendants.
In an appreciation post, Bridget Otoo acknowledged the gesture and the IGP’s “commitment to rooting out crime in the city and country as a whole,” while disclosing she had had “regional commanders of the Tema and Greater Accra also reach out,” with crime officers also taking details for investigations.
“Indeed, there is a new wind blowing within the Ghana Police Service than what we were used to,” she touted, and as though to relive her days of hosting ‘You and the Police,’ she announced, “Should you be a victim of any crime or suspect a crime might be taking place, please do not hesitate to contact crime fighters’ numbers 18555 or 191 for emergencies."
Indeed, Bridget Otoo was not the only person to have observed the positive change in the Ghana Police Service since Dr. Dampare took over in July 2021. Many Ghanaians, including a former Minister for Education, Prof Kwasi Yankah, had noticed same as captured in his remarks on Facebook two years after Dampare’s assumption of office.
“No longer ‘do you know who I am?’. Unprovoked police brutalities on demonstrators fading; dialogue by IGP himself with potential street protestors ahead of action; speedier arrest of armed fugitives; orderly by-elections, quicker response to stressful calls,” said the educationist.
The narrative, however, is now contradictory, especially with the fading instances of police brutality towards demonstrators, and not even Bridget Otoo, who was once the host of ‘You and the Police,’ was spared abuse during the #OccupyJulorBiHouse protest.
On Day 1 (September 21) of the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests by the Democracy Hub, a group of young activists, and police illegally rounded up hundreds of protesters who were marching to demand action on the prevailing economic crisis and corruption.
The illegal arrests, especially how they were conducted by the police, triggered harsh criticism of impeding the constitutional right to protest and deploying highhandedness on the part of the police.
Police sent the detainees to the regional headquarters before splitting them up into about eight police stations dotted across the capital, even as colleague protesters and lawyers worked to secure bail for the illegally detained persons.
In this process, other journalists and protesters who massed up, especially at the Accra Regional Command, encountered some amounts of police violence, including shoving, forced detention, seizure of phone and in the case of others, physical assault.
“I was holding a guy’s phone, he was live on Twitter, now X and I was talking in the space because a question was asked on what was happening on the demonstration grounds,” said Bridget Otoo as she recounted her ordeal.
She further lamented that “While I was talking and holding his phone, the police charged at us for doing absolutely nothing, attacking him. He ripped my bag and they pulled my dress and now I have a ripped dress.”
As serious as the issue was, her husband, Dr. Evans Ago Tetteh, became a central character at the main gate of the Accra Regional Police Command when he turned up furious after he was informed about the incident. Tetteh was seen seething with anger and daring the police to lay hands on his wife again, rebuffing all pleas to remain calm.
The police, however, has said the illegal arrests were justified because protesters were defying a court injunction served on them, which process they denied had been properly served.
In the wake of the police brutalities that characterized #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests, a chorus of criticism has emerged from Ghanaians, including prominent members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) – former President John Agyekum Kufuor; Akosua Manu, a Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA); and Richard Ahiagbah, the Director of Communication for the NPP. They have voiced their concerns, criticizing the Ghana Police Service's handling of the peaceful demonstrations.
The protest enters Day 3 on Saturday, September 23, 2023, but the shadows of what was a bourgeoning reflection of a ‘new Ghana Police Service,’ with Bridget Otoo being a notable journalist who spearheaded this new phase, and Dr. George Akuffo Dampare – arguably the most loved IGP in Ghana’s history at the helm, is sharply, perhaps, already in the pits of a ‘gone too soon’ narrative.
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Bridget Otoo is a broadcaster