Lance Corporal Frederick Amanor has pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault at an Accra Circuit Court, after he was captured on tape assaulting a woman at the banking hall of Midland Savings and Loans at Shiashie in Accra.
The police officer was remanded today [Thursday] after pleading not guilty to the charges.
[contextly_sidebar id=”9wpoXf4SU5BuOzjNzHXqlQB7gbn9XA0H”]He was arrested on Friday after the video of the incident went viral on social media.
The incident sparked public outrage and drew condemnation from Amnesty International, Ghana Bar Association, the Ministry for Gender Children and Social Protection and a number of civil society organizations.
The woman, Patience Osafo, was reportedly trying to withdraw her savings of Ghc270.00 after office hours due to frustrations from the bank.
Frederick Amanor assaulted her for refusing to leave the banking hall of Midland Savings and Loans with her grandchild.
Patience Osafo subsequently lodged a formal complaint at the Legon Police Station after she was led to do so due to the huge public interest in the case.
Frederick Amanor has been interdicted and his uniform and all other police accouterments taken from him, pending internal disciplinary proceedings.
In addition, an investigation has commenced into the conduct of officials of the Midland Savings and Loans limited.
The company has suspended all the staff that were on duty at the time and has said it considering compensating Patience Osafo.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has taken an interest in the case and said he supports fully any sanction the Police administration will take against Frederick Amanor.
“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.”
Meanwhile, the woman since the incident received support through donations to the tune of over Ghc25,000 cedis as well as food and other items.
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By: Anas Seidu/citinewsroom.com/Ghana