Cop faces murder charge in Nipa

A POLICE officer in Southern Highlands is facing a murder charge over the death of a man at Nipa station last week.
Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Crimes Hodges Ette, the commander of the Investigative Task Force in Mendi, said Constable Moses Snow had allegedly fired a shot “without lawful reasons” resulting in a pellet causing the death of the man last weekend.
Snow is from Kware village in Nipa and based at the Nipa Police Station.
Ette said the dead man’s relatives burnt down the police quarters occupied by Snow and damaged other police houses and the Nipa police station.
“Snow was apprehended at his village and taken to Mendi police station. He was charged with murder and will appear at the Nipa District Court.”
Ette said police investigation was continuing.
He reminded that police officers should perform their duties well to gain public trust.
“Our conduct must be geared towards winning the trust of our people, particularly when the security forces have been deployed in Southern Highlands to restore the credibility and integrity of the policing services in the province and restore normalcy of government services,” Ette said.
He said the conduct of a few officers “continues to damage the image of the constabulary and undermine the efforts by security personnel on the ground under very trying conditions”.