WARNING SHOTS ARE DISCRETIONAL IN POLICING -POLICE CHIEF

In the face of a barrage of criticisms against the police, for using live
bullets to quell angry mobs, instead of warning shots, the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kwaku Ayensu Opare-Addo, has noted that the use of warning shots was discretional in policing.

Speaking at a press conference, held early this week, he continued that there was nothing in the code of ethics, which suggested that the police should give warning shots, when a policeman is under attack.

He intimated that warning shots, was a discretion, that has been adopted over the years, to at least ward off people, who have the intention of attacking the police, adding that the warning shots were mostly used to draw the attention of angry mobs, that there were live bullets in the guns policemen handle.

“For example, this Ashaiman incident, policemen are armed and you are going to attack them? Their parents are looking forward to seeing them bury them, so the policemen will not allow their parents to bury them. I am not saying what they did was right, but there was no way out to keep their safety,” he emphasized.

“When the man is under stress, definitely he will have to protect himself, but when a policeman unjustifiably fires and kills you, he will be charged and sent to court on that score,” he remarked.

DCOP Opare-Addo urged the media to criticize the police constructively, so that it does not pitch them against the public, adding that the media made their work difficult for them, when they made ill-informed accusations against the police.

He advised the public not to look down on the police officers, who do checks on the roads, to ensure good relations.

“When you meet a police officer, your hello will be welcomed, but if you start out with aggressive nature, thinking that the policeman has no right to stop you, it would not auger well,” he stressed.

Touching on miscreants in the Police Service, he said during the enlistment of police officers, proper screening was done, and background checks were also done, however some of them would go out and misbehave.

“We always honour our code of ethics, regarding the use of weapons, we tell them to be careful of the use of weapons,” he reiterated.