Several arrested after police officer killed in ‘hit-and-run’

AMMAN — The funeral of a 27-year-old policeman killed last week while attempting to pull over a vehicle in Ramtha took place over the weekend.

Sgt. Udai Arqan was part of a police patrol which attempted to pull over a vehicle on June 13, in Ramtha, Irbid Governorate, 90km north of Amman. 

The driver refused to stop, however, and accelerated instead, striking Arqan before fleeing the scene, official sources said.

Arqan, a newly recruited police officer, was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition and died the following day, the sources added.

Police on Friday said they had arrested a 22-year-old man believed to be the driver “responsible for running over Arqan,” a Public Security Department (PSD) statement said.

Two other individuals, believed to have been in the vehicle with him, were also arrested, as well as three of the driver’s relatives who are suspected of attempting to conceal the incident, the PSD statement added.

Investigators received information that a group of people were “attempting to hide a vehicle that was involved in an accident and immediately seized the car”, the statement added.

Upon inspection of the vehicle, the PSD statement added, “investigators concluded that it was the vehicle involved in running over Arqan”.

Initial questioning of the suspect indicated that “he was driving without a licence, and when a police officer attempted to stop him, he increased his speed and struck him”, the PSD statement continued.

People took to Facebook to comment on the death of Arqan, with some users calling for the maximum punishment for the suspect.

“May his soul rest in peace. We hope that the court will not consider it as an accidental killing or that he was unable to control his vehicle. We want to see a tough punishment against him and against any individual who drives a vehicle without a licence,” Adnan Bisharat wrote.

Raed Deif added: “What happened was a cowardly act and the perpetrator should get a severe punishment.”

Others remembered Arqan as a devoted police officer.

“May your soul rest in peace. You were a polite and noble person who was loyal to his work and the country,” Tareq Sayaheen wrote.