3 QC cops charged over inaction on ex-cop vs biker incident
CHARGES have been filed before the Quezon City People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB) against three members of the city’s traffic police sector 4 for inaction on a vehicular altercation that involved a former police officer and a cyclist last month.
Charges of Oppression, Irregularities in the Performance of Duties and Incompetence, under Rule 21 of NAPOLCOM Memorandum Circular 2016 – 002 were filed against Police Staff Sergeants (PSSG) Darwin Peralta and Joel Aviso, and Police Executive Master Sergeant (PEMS) Armando Carr, all from the QCPD Traffic Sector 4 of Kamuning.
The cases stemmed from the complaint of Atty. Raymund Fortun, who filed the cases as a concerned citizen.
The cases have something to do with the gun-toting incident which involved former police officer Wilfredo Gonzales that took place last Aug. 8.
Fortun claimed that it appeared the cyclist and Gonzales were first brought to the QCPD Kamuning Police Station 11, since this was first considered a mere traffic incident by the first responders of QCPD Galas Police Station.
He added that eventually, no charges were filed in Kamuning, and the parties were instead referred to the Galas Police Station late in the evening.
“Despite the clear and imbalanced status of the parties, the same police officers failed to protect the rights of the cyclist when they failed to provide a legal counsel for him so that the latter would be duly appraised of his rights.
Further, they failed to secure the CCTV footage in the area in order to ferret out the real facts in the conflicting statements made by the parties.
Finally, and for reasons known only to them, and despite there being sufficient basis to do so, the same police officers failed to file the appropriate charges,” said Atty. Fortun.
Mayor Joy Belmonte, meanwhile, lauded the move of Fortun, saying that it is a vote of confidence that in Quezon City, things will get done.
PLEB Chairman and Executive Officer Atty. Rafael Vicente Calinisan, on the other hand, said that the institutions, particularly the PLEB, are in place so that the community will feel safe and secure in their homes.
“We commit to serve as an effective watchdog against abusive cops, and at the same time serve as partners to our men in uniform towards nation-building,” Calinisan said.
