Don’t Spare Midland Staff Too Over Police Brutality – Importers And Exporters Association

The Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association, Sampson Asaki Awingobit wants Midland Savings and Loans to fire its staff at the Shiashie branch where a police officer brutalized a woman last week.

He also wants the staff to be arrested saying they are all complicit in the assault.

Although the staff was not the ones who directly molested the woman, Awingobit argued that the policeman might have acted on their instruction hence his call.

“The management should fire the staff at that bank. And the police should not arrest the police officer alone because someone may have instructed the police to do what he did. It could be the supervisor, the tellers or the operations manager of the bank, so they should also be arrested….They all committed the same crime,” he said on Citi FM/Citi TV's news analysis programme, The Big Issue on Saturday.

Background
Lance Corporal Frederick Amanor was captured in a video, last week violently beating up Patience Osafo who was reportedly at the Midland Savings and Loans banking hall to withdraw money.

In the video, the police officer, who had an assault rifle, is seen striking the woman, who was holding a baby, multiple times on the head, first with an umbrella, and then with his fists.

The officer also attempted to drag her violently out of the building.

The woman was holding on to the baby while the officer kicked and shoved her around.

The viral video sparked public outrage , attracting condemnation from the Ghana Bar Association, Alliance for Women in Media, and the Ministry for Gender Children and Social Protection and other civil society organizations.

Lance Corporal Fredrick Amanor, was subsequently detained in police custody pending further investigations.

Franklin Cudjoe threatens to sue Midland
Meanwhile, the president of policy think tank, IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe said he will join forces with some lawyers to drag Midland Savings and Loans to court for allowing the police officer brutalize the woman.

“Now that the bank has said they are investigating the matter, it shouldn't actually end there. I'm likely to talk to a few lawyers to sue the bank so that the bank will pay substantial damages so that the lady is properly compensated…I don't think the best thing to do is to ask the police or any security guard to walk the woman out. The policeman was acting on instruction,” he added.

Forgive our son – Officer's family begs

The family of Lance Corporal, Frederick Amanor, however, pleaded with Ghanaians to forgive the officer for his action.

In a statement copied to citinewsroom.com the family said it had known Frederick Amanor as an amiable person, very caring and considerate,” hence his behavior as captured in the viral video was unusual of him.

I'll support sanctions against 'woman beater' policeman – Nana Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo who is livid over the issue lambasted the police officer.

The President said he will support fully any sanction the Police administration will take against the embattled police officer to serve as a deterrent to other recalcitrant officers who assault citizens instead of protecting them.

“…e had some very bad news in Accra – police beating up a woman who had gone to get money at the Midland Loans and Savings Company. I want to say here: policemen are meant to protect citizens and not to assault citizens.”

“The measures that the IGP has taken to sanction the erring policeman and to make sure these don't happen again, have my complete support. I support 100 percent the measures he has taken so that we can stop these incidents from proliferating,” he added.