Lawyer for Shadrack Arloo demands detained autopsy report after doubts over Pathologist’s verbal cause of death
Lawyer for Shadrack Arloo the young man who suddenly died after an altercation with a police officer and two private security personnel at the West Hill Mall last week has raised doubts about the authenticity of the verbal cause of death given by the Police pathologist as Asphyxiation and obstruction of the airway by a foreign body.
Francis Xavier Sosu believes the verbal narration is inconclusive and cannot be relied on as the only cause of death of the deceased without carefully analyzing and investigating all the events that led to the demise of the deceased.
He is, therefore, demanding the full detailed autopsy report as a matter of urgency.
In a statement released on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, Francis Xavier Sosu said there is sufficient evidence from the video footage that shows that the deceased died while being manhandled by Police officers and other private security personnel of the West hills Mall while other officers stood by unconcerned.
He argued that Shadrack Arloo was in their lawful custody after they had handcuffed him and any form of attack including beating, tasing, and forcible restraint meted out to the deceased was done while he was in the lawful custody of the Police without any opportunity for him to help himself as he was in handcuffs.
“The opinion given by the Police Pathologist can be accepted or rejected based on the causal links of other factors leading to the death and not binding of a Jury in a murder or manslaughter trial,” excerpts of the statement said.
Referencing the police incident report of 31st January 2023 and the facts given to the coroner’s court, Accra dated 31st January 2023, that “…when G/Sgt Daniels Abeiku wanted to know what was in the bag, deceased attempted running away but the said sergeant held him. Deceased quickly removed something wrapped in a piece of black polythene and swallowed. That when the said sergeant wanted to handcuff him suspect Boafo Osei Kwame who works at the said Mall rushed to the seen with his personal taser to shock deceased and he became unconscious. Deceased was rushed to Sonotech Hospital also located at West Hills Mall for treatment but he was pronounced dead on arrival by the doctor on duty”, the Human Rights Activist questioned steps the police took to avert the situation.
“In clear dereliction of duty and without regard to the life of the deceased, and in violation of his right to life and dignity, the deceased in the full glare of the public was subjected to torture and dehumanizing treatment until he passed away,” the statement averred.
He accuses the Ghana Police Service of “cleverly covering up” for the unlawful and unprofessional conduct of its officers that has led to the death of the deceased.
The F-X Law & Association threatened to take the following steps if the Police Service refuse and or neglect to conduct further expansive investigations into the matter within Seven (7) days of this release, we;
- petition CHRAJ to cause a full-scale human rights investigation into circumstances leading to the death of the deceased and make appropriate recommendations.
- call for the immediate resignation of the Inspector General of Police for failure of the Service to protect the life of the deceased suspect in their lawful custody which failure caused and / or contributed to cause the death of the deceased. This call is based on the fact that the Police by their statement are neglecting their basic duty to conduct an expansive investigation of this clear act of negligently causing death by their officers.
- petition the president of the republic of Ghana for the removal of the IGP in the unlikely event that he fails to heed to the call to resign and fails to conduct the needed expansive investigation that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of this crime against the deceased suspect.
- institute a Human Rights action at the High Court for declarations that the conduct of officers of the Ghana Police Service, which was part of the reasons why the deceased choked on the substance he attempted to swallow violated his rights to life, dignity, and protection from torture and dehumanizing treatment.
Below is the full statement
