SLAIN COP'S BODY FLOWN HOME (Page 210

21/07/08
Story: Mary Mensah & Gifty Appiah-Adjei
The mortal remains of General Sergeant Joseph Stanhope Dawson, a member of the Ghanaian Police team on United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Mission in Dafur, was received by the Police Administration at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra last Friday.
The body was flown into the country by the Emirates Airline that touched down at exactly 11 a.m.
The police mounted a parade at the airport to pay respect to the body and in attendance were Commissioner of Police (COP) Paul Quaye, Director General (SGM), and Mr J. Oppong Boamuah, Greater Accra Regional Commander.
COP Quaye said the Police Administration sympathised with the family and described General Sergeant Dawson as a dedicated and hardworking officer.
Family members present could not help but wail and shed tears as the silver casket containing the remains of the deceased was carried away in a police ambulance amidst the blowing of sirens from the airport to the Police Hospital mortuary.
In an address, COP Quaye said though the Ghana Police Peacekeeping contingent in Dafur had suffered some minor casualties like injuries and sicknesses, General Sergeant Dawson was the first to die.
He further said currently, there were 476 Ghanaian Police UN Peacekeeping officers in Dafur.
The death of General Sergeant Dawson, a native of Elmina in the Central Region, occurred on June 8, 2008, when 10 UN police officers, two military observers and two language assistants under the escort of 51 Rwandese armed personnel were ambushed by militia men between Gusa Jamat and Wadah in the north of Dafur.
The ambush resulted in the death of seven officers while 22 others sustained injuries.