A ROOKIE policeman shot and killed himself reportedly by accident while he was drinking beer with friends in Barangay Kinasang-an, Cebu City last Sunday.
PO1 Benjamin Pardillada, 24, was supposed to enjoy his day off from his assignment at the Regional Public Safety Batallion (RPSB) 7 in Sibonga town. His merry-making was cut short at 3:30 a.m.
“Had he not been apparently under the influence of alcohol with the gun in his waistband, it might have been prevented,” said SPO1 Vicente Espenido Jr., the lead investigator assigned to the case.
The accident happened in front of at least two teenagers and other neighbors in Sitio Lower Paradise.
The possibility that somebody other than Pardillada had pulled the trigger seems far-fetched, according to Espenido.
“All neighbors were cooperative. Four men even submitted themselves voluntarily for a paraffin test though it’s not needed,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
A paraffin test, which involves the pouring of hot wax on a person’s hands, is done to determine if a witness or suspect had fired a gun.
Initial investigation revealed that before the incident, Pardillada shared three large bottles of Red Horse with five neighbors in an alley in their neighborhood.
When two of them left to buy two more bottles of beer, a teenager ran in front of the group.
Pardillada immediately pulled his gun from the waistline of his trousers. He blocked the teenager and asked where he’s going, and the latter replied: “Gipasanginlan ko nilang kawatan (Someone accused me of being a robber).”
Espenido said that according to the police officer’s friends, Pardillada told the teenager to go back and never return to the area.
Ariel Matas, 19, and Lario Jimenez, 17, turned their attention to their smart phones to play games. The next thing they heard was the gunshot. Pardillada screamed for help. He apparently shot himself in the stomach.
When Pardillada inserted his gun into his trouser’s waistband, he apparently forgot that it had been cocked.
The cop’s cousin and brother rushed him to the Cebu City Medical Center but he did not make it alive.
The homicide police recovered his 9mm. Pietro Berreta service firearm. There were 14 live ammunition left inside.