The Sekondi District Police Command has commenced investigations into an alleged assault of a sports journalist, Solomon Amankwah, by a Police officer.

The Atinka Media Village journalist is alleged to have been assaulted by one General Lance Corporal Prince Mensah, who works with the Regional CID Operations and Intelligence Unit, on Monday, January 3, 2022.

Solomon Amankwah is said to have parked his Nissan Sentra vehicle at the Sekondi Police Barracks without serving notice to authorities on duty and forgot the key inside the vehicle.

He was later spotted searching for a piece of metal in an accident car parked at the Police Station to open the door to his car.

The Police officer confronted him and asked Solomon to leave the premises, but he refused. This compelled General Lance Corporal Mensah to arrest him for further interrogations.

“Solomon Amankwah resisted the arrest, and the Police officer applied minimum force to effect his arrest eventually and sent him to the Police Station. It was at the station that the Police got to know that Solomon Amankwah is a journalist.”

“On that same day, the Sekondi Divisional Command held a meeting with Management of Atinka Media Village, Western Region and assured them of a thorough investigation into the incident,” the Police said in a statement dated January 4, 2022.

Meanwhile, the Police has assured that they will continue to maintain their cordial relationship with the media and the general public to promote peace and security in society.

“We would like to state that inasmuch as a Police Station is a public place to which the public has unfettered access, no one has the right to interfere with any exhibit at the station, and certainly no one has the right to attempt to break into an accident vehicle for any purpose.”

“It is appropriate always to seek the approval of the Police officer on duty when intending to leave any personal property at the Police Station or conduct any personal business on the premises of the station,” Head of the Public Affairs Unit of the Western Regional Police Command, DSP Olivia Adiku added.

Below is the Police statement: