Another minor was allegedly killed by a police officer in Rizal province just weeks after a teenager died in a Navotas police operation, authorities said Friday.
The latest incident on Aug. 20 involved a policeman who was conducting “Oplan Sita,” a routine anti-criminality inspection, in an area where several motorcycle robberies were reported in Barangay San Isidro, Rodriguez town, said Police Capt. Mariesol Tactaquin, public information officer of the Rizal police.
The victim’s brother was riding a motorcycle and allegedly zoomed past the policeman — identified later as Cpl. Arnulfo Sabillo, who was in civilian clothing — who flagged him down. The officer chased the 22-year-old rider until they reached the latter’s home, Tactaquin said.
She said the motorcycle rider then removed his helmet and threw it at the police officer, who fired his gun in retaliation. The shot hit the rider’s 15-year-old brother, who came out of their house due to the commotion, in the stomach.
The teenager, John Francis Ompad, later died in the hospital, his family said. He would have been in Grade 9 this school year.
In another police operation in August, Navotas officers shot dead 17-year-old Jemboy Baltazar after he was mistaken for a suspect they were chasing.
“There were lapses. First, the policeman was not in uniform. And when the helmet was thrown at him, his response seemed excessive. It appears that he used excessive force,” Tactaquin told TeleRadyo Serbisyo. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)
Investigators are also looking into allegations that the policeman was accompanied by a civilian, identified as his friend and neighbor, during the chase.
“What was the civilian doing with him? You cannot have someone who is not a police officer accompany you just so that you could comply with the buddy system,” Tactaquin said.
Sabillo is facing homicide and attempted homicide complaints, and will face an administrative case. He was detained pending preliminary investigation, Tactaquin said.
A TV report said Sabillo joined the police force in 2015 but was suspended in 2017 for an alarm-and-scandal case. He was also suspended just last January for an administrative case involving a debt.