The lawyer for the family of the 32-year-old man who died during an arrest incident at the West Hills Mall has accused the Ghana Police Service of engaging in a cover-up.
According to Francis Xavier-Sosu, who is the Member of Parliament for Madina Constituency, there is clear evidence to show that the police is covering up for the actions of its officers which led to the death of the deceased.
“The incident report and the facts before the coroner’s court clearly shows that the Ghana Police service is cleverly covering up for the unlawful and unprofessional conduct of its officers that has led to the death of the deceased,” his law firm, FX & Associates stated in a statement.
The statement by the lawyers of the deceased family is on the back of a police report which said that Shadrach Arloo died from asphyxiation and obstruction of the airway by a foreign body as established through a post-mortem is inconclusive.
According to a police statement issued on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, to update the public on investigations into the death, doctors who conducted forensic examination of his body retrieved 8 bags of narcotics from the throat of the deceased.
“The pathologist gave the verbal cause of death as Asphyxiation and Obstruction of the airway by a foreign body. He also retrieved from the throat of the deceased, eight (8) zipped bags containing dry leaves suspected to be narcotic drugs tied in a piece of black polythene. The retrieved suspected narcotic substances tested positive for cannabis when submitted for forensic examination, in the presence of all the interested parties,” the police statement added.
Reacting to the police report, lawyer Sosu said the verbal cause of death alone is not sufficient and has thus demanded an expansive investigation into the matter.
He noted that the deceased according to evidence was tortured and manhandled by the arresting officers which contribute to or caused his death.
He cautioned that a failure by the police to expand its investigation will see cause certain actions to be taken including a demand for the resignation or dismissal of the Inspector-General of Police.
Read the full statement by the lawyers of the deceased family below:
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