The management of West Hills Mall has spoken following an incident involving a young man and a police officer.
Shadrach Arloo, 32, is said to have died after he was beaten by a policeman around the West Hills area in Accra.
The incident reportedly happened on Monday afternoon on January 30, 2023 when the refusal of the young man to hand over his bag to a police officer who demanded to search it led to a confrontation at the mall area where he went to withdraw money.
The police officer who is said to have gotten agitated hit and pushed him to the ground, leading to his death.
But in a statement from management of the West Hills Mall, the incident was misreported.
According to them, eyewitness and mall security personnel accounts indicate that the deceased was confronted by a police officer and asked to present his bag for examination upon suspicion that he was possessing drugs or banned substances.
Shadrach, is said to have taken out something from his bag and swallowed it as the policeman approached him.
The mall’s cameras subsequently captured a footage of the officer apprehending the young man together with another he was with as they headed for the main entrance of the mall.
An attempt by the police to handcuff him resulted in a struggle between the parties.
The statement further noted that after the police officer succeeded in handcuffing him, the struggle stopped as the man in question appeared to be unwell.
The handcuffs were then removed by the police officer and he was taken to the medical facility on-site but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The Weija District Police have since retrieved the body.
Below is the full statement as sighted on citinewsroom.com
PRESS STATEMENT
Incident at West Hills Mall on Monday, January 30, 2023
The Management of West Hills Mall hereby confirms that an incident occurred on its premises in the afternoon of Monday, January 30, 2023 which unfortunately resulted in a fatality.
By eyewitness and mall security personnel accounts, at approximately 3:15pm on January 30, 2023, a visitor was confronted by a Police Officer and asked to present his bag for examination. The Police Officer ostensibly suspected the customer, a young man between 25 and 30 years, of possessing drugs or banned substances. The accounts indicate that the young man hesitated, removed something from his bag and swallowed it as the policeman approached him.
West Hills Mall’s 24-hour security surveillance system captured footage of the officer apprehending the young man, as well as another man who accompanied him, as they headed for the main entrance of the mall. In an attempt to handcuff the young man, a struggle between the parties ensued while the Police Officer tried to handcuff him.
He was eventually handcuffed but stopped struggling and appeared unwell after that. The Police subsequently removed the cuffs from his hands, and Mall Security arranged for transportation for him to be taken to the medical facility on-site. Sadly, he was pronounced dead by Medics upon arrival.
The Weija District Police have since retrieved the body of the deceased.
The Management of West Hills Mall is shocked by this ill-fated incident. We convey our sincerest condolences to the deceased’s family as we trust that the Police will handle the matter further.
Thank You.
Olympio Agbodza
Assiastant Asset Manager,
West Africa Asset Management
Sister’s Account:
Sister of the deceased who is a gospel musician, Perpetual Didier, narrating the incident in a viral video said that her brother who was scheduled to travel to Germany the next day had gone to the mall for shopping on the said day of the incident.
He had therefore gone to withdraw money in order to purchase some items intended to be sent to his sister in Germany.
She added that, from what an eyewitness told her, the police demanded that her brother hand over his bag to be searched, but he refused.
This then led to the police officer getting agitated and then hitting and pushing him to the ground.
Perpetual added that her brother fell to the ground and hit his head on the floor, breaking his neck in the process.
He is said to have lost consciousness, at which time the police officer tased the motionless man on the floor.
It is believed that this worsened the state the young man was already in, leading to his death.
While the police have yet to respond officially to these claims, the gospel musician is demanding justice from the IGP.
WA/BOG
Shadrack Arloo is said to have died a day before his travel to Germany