IMEG cop faces ax for indiscriminate firing
A ROOKIE cop arrested for firing his gun indiscriminately while allegedly under the influence of liquor in Cabanatuan City during the New Year’s Eve festivities is now facing criminal and administrative charges for grave misconduct that will merit his dismissal from the force.
The suspect, a patrolman, of Barangay Aduas Centro in Cabanatuan City, was accused of shooting two men in their neighborhood at 12:30 a.m. last Monday (January 2).
The cop assigned at the Philippine National Police Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (PNP-IMEG) wounded a cellphone technician and another victim. Before the shooting incident, some of the policeman’s friends also allegedly beat up one male victim.
Right after the gun attack, members of the Cabanatuan City Police Station arrested the suspect and had him locked up at the local police jail. An angry PNP-IMEG Director, Brigadier Gen. Warren F. de Leon, vowed to pursue the administrative case against the suspect, which will cause his dismissal from the police organization.
The act committed by the suspect was the only blot in the otherwise all-positive accomplishments scored by the PNP-IMEG last year.
PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. earlier said that aggressive law enforcement operations resulted in the arrest of three suspects – one a member of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the two other civilians for alleged indiscriminate firing during New Year’s celebration.
“As I have warned at the onset of the holiday security operations, criminal liability for indiscriminate firing is further aggravated if the offender belongs to the uniformed services,” the PNP chief said.
Azurin ordered Colonel Paul Kenneth T. Lucas, the director of the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office, to consolidate the names of licensed gun-holders who violated the law on firearms use and to cause the revocation of their licenses without delay.
He said that appropriate criminal charges should also be filed against the accused.
Azurin said that the traditional holiday celebration was generally peaceful throughout the country, with no significant incidents that may affect the national security and the overall peace and order situation of the country, as reported by all 17 Police Regional Offices (PROs) last Saturday until Monday.
“Heightened alert status of territorial units and full operational readiness of police maneuver forces bolstered the anti-criminality, law enforcement and public safety operations of the PNP during the New Year’s revelry resulting in zero (casualties),” he added.
