The Ghana Police Service has admitted that there should have been a better way to deal with the incident at Kumasi Islamic Senior High School.
According to the Service, a more measured approach would have resulted in a far more significant resolution to the pandemonium, rather than the development saw in the Ashanti Region town on Monday.
As a result of this, several top police officers in the area have been arrested, including DCOP Kwasi Akomeah-Apraku, the Deputy Regional Police Commander.
At the time of the mayhem, he was serving as the Ashanti Regional Police Commander.
Two more police officers have been detained pending the outcome of the investigation.
About 25 children were sent to the hospital after police allegedly used tear gas on them as they protested frequent pedestrian collisions in front of the school.
During the protest, the victims were alleged to be members of a gang of students that stopped the Abrepo Junction-Barekese route.
The enraged students had gathered on the road in protest, demanding that speed ramps be built on that stretch of road.
All of the wounded were responding to treatment, according to Sommit Duut, Regional Director of the National Ambulance Service.
He did emphasize, however, that they did not treat any serious injury, such as gunshot wounds. Instead, he claims, the students experienced respiratory difficulty.
Dr George Akuffo Dampare, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), later paid a visit to the school to learn more about the situation firsthand.
The police administration was conducting investigations at the time of the visit.
Following his visit, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare informed students and school management that he would investigate the actions of police officers deployed for crowd control during the demonstration.
While speaking to the students, the IGP stated that an investigation into the matter would be done to ensure that the appropriate action is taken.
The preliminary report was released tonight. “Even though no one was struck by a bullet, the Police handling of the situation was unsatisfactory and fell short of our standard operating procedure on crowd management,” according to a statement issued by Police Director of Public Affairs Grace Ansah-Akrofi.