Rookie’s death prompts police review

AN INVESTIGATION is underway to look for lapses and necessary changes in the way the police conduct operations, following the death of a rookie policeman in Pilar, Camotes last Saturday.

Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, head of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), ordered the inquiry after PO1 Ryan Saturiño died while responding to a call for help.

The policeman was stabbed by a man who was allegedly suffering from a nervous breakdown in Sitio Purok Palmera, Barangay Esperanza at 9 p.m.

“It was considered a high-risk operation. You can’t really predict the mind of a mentally-ill person,” Comendador said. Before the incident, Miguel Silao, one of the barangay councilors, sought the help of police after Jonathan Cordero, 42, hit him with a bamboo split.

The suspect reportedly got irked after PO2 Nelton Silao reprimanded him for burning garbage along the road.

Apart from Silao and Saturiño, the third member of the team that responded to the trouble alarm was PO1 Vicente Piañar.

They introduced themselves and informed the suspect of his rights. When Cordero was about to be handcuffed, he resisted and a scuffle began.

Saturiño was overpowered by the suspect, who was bigger and stronger than the policeman. He ran for cover after the suspect pulled out a pair of scissors from his pocket.

While the policeman was hiding at the back of the house, Cordero found him and stabbed him in the chest.

Saturiño retaliated by pulling out his .45 pistol and firing at the suspect thrice.

Both were rushed to the municipal health center but died on the way there. The suspect had gunshot wounds in his chest and left arm.

Four empty shells from a .45 pistol and a pair of scissors were recovered in the crime scene.

Comendador told Sun.Star Cebu that Saturiño, a resident of Barangay Canduman, Mandaue City, was recently assigned in the town police in preparation for the midterm elections.

During a command conference yesterday, he told all police station chiefs in Cebu Province to constantly remind their policemen about the proper procedures in responding to alarms.

“We will give him a posthumous award because he died in the line of duty,” Comendador said.

He already designated a liaison officer who will make the burial arrangements and facilitate the benefits the officer’s family will receive.

Under Republic Act 4864 or The Police Act of 1966, any PNP member who suffers an injury or gets sick while performing his/her official functions and dies or is killed in the line of duty is entitled to death benefits.

The families will get gratuity equivalent to one year’s salary, burial expenses equivalent to three months’ basic salary, and monthly pension for five years, equivalent to 80 percent of the officer’s basic monthly salary.