Police justify the shooting of a female pillion rider near Pwalugu

Police in the Upper East Region have justified the shooting of a female pillion rider by officers manning a checkpoint a few kilometers after Pwalugu.

Laadi Wunia, who was the pillion rider, was reportedly shot in the waist and arm after the rider ignored an instruction by the police to stop. She was rushed to the Bolgatanga Hospital where her relatives have told Bolgatanga-based Dreamz Fm that she has been discharged with the bullets still in her body.

Narrating the incident, the brother of the victim, Godwin Wuni said his sister was offered the ride at the close of work on Tuesday evening and upon reaching the police checkpoint, they were stopped by the officers who inquired about their riding helmet.

He explained that in the cause of the conversation there was an altercation with one of the officers who threatened to shoot them if they obeyed the instruction of another officer to proceed to their destination.

“That particular officer actually carried out his threat and fired the shot at them when they started moving,” he said.

However, Public Relations Officer of the Upper East Region Police Command, ASP David Fianko Okyere, said the riders rather crashed into the metal barricades at the checkpoint point and failed to stop, a reason the shot was fired on suspicion that the riders were either committing a crime or on their way to commit a crime.

“The incident has to do with suspicion of criminal movement and accident that occurred. Whiles the police personnel were on duty, they observed an oncoming motorbike with a pillion rider. They crashed into the metal barricade that we used to block the road to stop and search.

“When they crashed into the barrier, the rider managed to flee the scene and the police on duty suspected them to be criminal elements who are about to commit a crime somewhere. The police decided to immobilize them and a gunshot was fired which unfortunately hit the pillion rider who happens to be a lady. Immediately, the victim was rushed to the regional hospital where she is currently responding very well to treatment,” ASP Fianko Okyere said on Bolgatanga based Dreamz Fm monitored by Mynewsgh.com.

The police PRO further explained that it was not out of place for the shot to be fired in a situation where the officers on lawful duty had reason to suspect that the victims were engaged in crime.

“The fact is that some people when they hear the gunshot, they will stop for the fear of being hit by the weapon and it’s not also wrong if we have a direct firing aimed at immobilizing an individual suspected to be committing or about to commit a violent crime and so a gunshot was fired. The investigation has been launched into the matter immediately after the incident happened,” he added.