A Police Constable, Debi Sando has been arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court for attempting to rob an Uber service provider of his Hyundai Matiz SE vehicle.
The cop stationed at the Accra Regional Patrol Department together with two others who are now at large reportedly hired the Uber driver to carry them from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to Radio Gold at Latebiokoshie.
On reaching Nkrumah flat, he is said to have pulled out a pistol and ordered the driver to surrender the car.
The driver, however, managed to escape through the window of the vehicle and raised an alarm for help.
The cop for fear of being arrested took to his heel but was knocked down by an on-coming vehicle – after the driver saw what was happening.
Constable Sando who could barely stand on his feet without support while in court is said to have managed to crawl into a nearby plantain garden but was arrested by a police patrol team.
The car, as well as, the pistol used in the attempted robbery, have been retrieved by the police.
He pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to commit crime, to wit robbery.
His lawyer, Andrew Vortia prayed the court to grant him bail because of his health condition.
The prosecution led by Superintendent Kwaku Bempah, however, opposed the bail and prayed the court to remand the Cop at the Cantonment Police Station due to its proximity to the Regional Police Hospital so that he can receive medical attention when necessary.
The presiding judge, Mr. Aboagye Tandoh adjourned the matter to February 8, 2018 to rule on the bail application.
Facts
Superintendent Kwaku Bempah told the court that the accused person is a police officer with number 52398 and stationed at the Accra Regional Patrol Department and lives at Banana-Inn in the Greater Accra Region.
He said on January 1, 2018, the Cop hired the Uber driver to pick him and two others from Kwame Nkrumah Circle to Radio Gold.
He said the Cop was sitting in the front seat with the driver and somewhere along the journey the he pulled out a gun and ordered the driver to surrender his vehicle.
Superintendent Kwaku Bempah stated that the other two suspects who were in the back seat also held the driver but he (driver) managed to struggle his way out through the window.
He narrated that the police officer sprayed pepper-spray into the eyes of the driver and attempted to start the vehicle but failed to do so.
He said the Cop after he was hit by the on-coming car, managed to crawl into a nearby plantain garden but the driver raised an alarm which attracted residents in the area who hunted him down and handed him over to a police patrol team.
Superintendent Kwaku Bempah added that due to the injuries Constable Sando sustained he was immediately rushed to the Police Hospital where he was admitted for treatment.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak