FOUR men disarmed and mauled a policeman from Pardo Police Station in an eatery on Pelaez St., Barangay Kamagayan, Cebu City yesterday.
What did PO2 Jose Randel Buscato do to get them so angry? That’s what police officials are trying to determine.
Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador, in an interview with reporters, said he directed Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau (CIIB) Chief George Ylanan to closely investigate the circumstances of the incident.
“If it will be ascertained that he (Buscato) was responding (to an alarm), we will support him all the way. But, if we will found out that he is lying, we will throw the book at him,” he said.
Ylanan, in a separate interview with Sun.Star Cebu, said they have gathered two versions of the incident, one by Buscato himself and the other by policemen from the Pari-an Police Station.
Buscato said he was on his motorcycle passing by Pelaez St. around 7 a.m. when an acquaintance flagged him down and sought his assistance.
His friend, whom investigators have yet to identify, was allegedly harassed by a group of men nearby.
The policeman, who was in civilian clothes, got off his motorcycle to settle matters.
After he identified himself as a police officer, one of four unidentified men allegedly retorted: “Ngano man diay’g pulis ka (So, what if you’re a policeman”)?
The four men then ganged up on him, prompting him to fire a warning shot.
In a TV Patrol Cebu report, Buscato said he saw no reason to shoot them because they were not armed.
One of the perpetrators managed to get hold of his gun, a Norinco.45 pistol, bearing serial number BA 01605.
Buscato ran, but the four men caught up with him near radio dyRF at the corner of Pelaez and P. del Rosario Streets, and continued to beat him up.
The four men only stopped after traffic enforcer Edgar Famador, who was detailed in the area, and other bystanders arrived and interceded.
The perpetrators quickly left with Buscato’s firearm.
Policemen from the Parian Police Station also arrived.
Two witnesses who were interviewed by a team sent by Ylanan, however, said Buscato was drinking inside the eatery when he got into an argument with the four men in the other table.
Ylanan said they are verifying reports that Buscato banged his firearm on the table occupied by the four men, which triggered the incident.
The man, who got hold of Buscato’s firearm, allegedly tried pulling the trigger of the firearm but it reportedly jammed.
“But these are all subject for verification. We will find other independent witnesses to help counter-check these reports,” Ylanan said. (JST)
