Contrary to report by the Ministry of Justice that Inspector Amos Tutu was set ablaze while effecting an arrest, the Liberia National Police has come out with a different version of the story saying that the late police officer did not go into the area to effect an arrest.   Addressing a news conference yesterday, Police Inspector General Marc Amblard said Chief Inspector Tutu's mission was not in pursuit of any criminal gang. He said Inspector Tutu's presence on the Capitol By-pass was a different mission at which quarrel erupted between him and a resident of the area.The police boss said it is speculated that the late Tutu opened fire in which one resident identified as Preston Davies was killed and the police officer was burnt to death by residents of the community. “Whatsoever may have happened does not in any way give anyone the right to burn someone to death lest to say an officer of the Liberia National Police,” Insp. Gen. Amblard told journalists in Monrovia.He said the recent situation that occurred on the By-Pass and other areas will in no way deter the police from pursuing criminal activities in the country as the police will respond robustly to any situation that has the propensity to create unrest and chaos.

He said so far three persons including the prime suspect have been arrested while five persons are presently undergoing investigation in connection with the incident on the By-pass. Inspector Amblard said the arm allegedly used by the officer has not been recovered and therefore, called on residents in the area as well as the public to report any information on the whereabouts of the arm. On February 27, a senior officer of the Police Support Unit (PSU) of the Liberia National Police was set ablaze in the vicinity of the Building Materials Center on the Capitol By-pass by an angry mob believed to be residents of the area.A day following the incident, the Ministry of Justice released a statement saying that the late officer Amos Tutu had gone in the area to effect the arrest of a criminal gang. But the police said the late Preston Davies who was allegedly shut by Officer Tutu was a former police officer and a resident of the By-pass. In a related development, the Liberia National Police has provided an update on the recent violence in Lofa County. According to Inspector General Marc Amblard, four persons were killed during the violence. Among the dead according to Mr. Amblard, three persons died from bullet wounds while one died as a result of a cutlass wound.

Amblard said 21 persons got wounded, six cars damaged and 23 houses burnt. Twenty-seven shops got burnt during the incident with three churches and two mosques damaged. The police boss said 10 single barrels and 13 cutlasses were confiscated by the police while 52 inmates escaped from the Lofa Prison. He said one of the inmates has been rearrested while the police is in pursuit of the rest. Amblard noted that the police will maintain its presence in Lofa County despite putting the situation under control in the county. He said law and order have returned to Voinjama and Zorzor and in other districts of the county as the police is doing everything possible to bring the violence to total end.