Man charged with murder of police officer, resisting arrest in Irbid hit-and-run

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Saturday charged a man with murdering a police officer and resisting arrest in connection with the hit-and-run incident that occurred last week in Irbid.

On Thursday night, warrant officer Mohammad Abu Askar who was on duty, was allegedly hit by a motorist who fled the scene, Police Spokesperson Lt. Amer Sartawi.

“Abu Askar, who was attempting to pull over the motorist when he was hit by the vehicle intentionally, died at the scene,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

The police official added that an investigation team was immediately formed and managed to “identify the driver and the passengers with him”.

The suspect’s vehicle was found abandoned by the investigation team shortly after the incident, Sartawi maintained.

“We were able to locate the suspects who were staying at an apartment in an eastern Amman neighbourhood,” according to Sartawi.

A special task force team raided the apartment and arrested five people, including the driver of the vehicle, he added.

The suspect reportedly confessed to “intentionally running over Abu Askar who was pulling him over during a routine traffic stop”, according to Sartawi.

The Criminal Court prosecutor also charged a passenger who was in the vehicle with the suspect with complicity in murder and resisting arrest, according to a statement by the Public Security Directorate (PSD).

The two men were ordered detained by the Criminal Court prosecutor at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigations into the incident, according to the PSD statement.