The Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery has reiterated government’s decision to arm all police officers including MTTD officers.
This follows a backlash of the directive he gave the acting Inspector General of Police to arm officers assigned to road traffic duties following the killing of two officers at Gomoa Budumburam.
While speaking at the Police Church in Kumasi on Tuesday as part of his tour to various security agencies in the region, Ambrose Dery said the decision is to help police officers exercise the right to self-defense in fighting violent crimes.
In response to some of the criticisms, he further argued that officers are trained and as a result know how to handle arms.
He added that over 400 bullet proof jackets have been supplied to the Ashanti Regional Police Command as part of measures to protect the officers.
“All police officers including officers from the MTTD should be armed, should be protected with bullet-proof vest and helmet. We also have cameras on our jackets to help us ensure that everything is under control.”
He praised the security service for cracking various kidnapped cases in the country, citing the Indian and Canadian kidnapping cases.
“You are doing a great job for Ghana and the region. Two kidnapped cases such as the Indian and Canadian cases security agencies worked together to rescue them”.
