West Hills Mall Clarifies Incident That Resulted In The Death of a 32-Year-Old Man on its Property

The management of West Hills Mall have reacted to the death of a 32-year-old man on its premises.
The deceased Mr. Shadrach Arloo passed away after he had an altercation with a police officer at the Mall.
The Mall has issued a statement explaining that its surveillance system recorded the officer’s attempts to apprehend Mr. Arloo.

According to eyewitnesses and Mall security, the officer requested to search Mr. Arloo’s bag because he thought he might be in possession of some illegal substances.

The account claims that the suspect took something from his bag and swallowed it, and that’s what started the fight.

According to the West Hills Mall, the footage from its cameras showed a brief struggle between the suspect and the officer as they tried to handcuff him. The suspect eventually gave up and appeared to be sick.

When he arrived at the on-site medical facility, he had already been declared dead.

Read full statement below.

Incident at West Hills Mall on Monday, January 30, 2023

The Management of West Hills Mall hereby confirms that an incident occurred on its premises in the afternoon of Monday, January 30, 2023 which unfortunately resulted in a fatality.

By eyewitness and mall security personnel accounts, at approximately 3:15pm on January 30, 2023, a visitor was confronted by a Police Officer and asked to present his bag for examination. The Police Officer ostensibly suspected the customer, a young man between 25 and 30 years, of possessing drugs or banned substances. The accounts indicate that the young man hesitated, removed something from his bag and swallowed it as the policeman approached him.

West Hills Mall’s 24-hour security surveillance system captured footage of the officer apprehending the young man, as well as another man who accompanied him, as they headed for the main entrance of the mall. In an attempt to handcuff the young man, a struggle between the parties ensued while the Police Officer tried to handcuff him.

He was eventually handcuffed but stopped struggling and appeared unwell after that. The Police subsequently removed the cuffs from his hands, and Mall Security arranged for transportation for him to be taken to the medical facility on-site. Sadly, he was pronounced dead by Medics upon arrival.

The Weija District Police have since retrieved the body of the deceased.

The Management of West Hills Mall is shocked by this ill-fated incident. We convey our sincerest condolences to the deceased’s family as we trust that the Police will handle the matter further.

Thank You.

Olympio Agbodza

Assistant Asset Manager,

West Africa Asset Management