COCKPIT MURDER | Mayor urges law enforcement agency to look into police killing of a man with autism

May 24, 2021 , 05:34 PM

(May 24, 2021) – The National Bureau of Investigation must look into the death of an 18-year-old man diagnosed with autism who was killed in a police raid on a cockpit in Valenzuela City, its mayor said on Monday.

Rex Gatchalian said he wanted an impartial inquiry into the death of Edwin Armigo who was gunned down by local police officers at Barangay Lingunan on Sunday.

“It’s only proper that we get a third party like the NBI to verify the veracity of the case,” Gatchalian told reporters in a press conference. “I don’t think it’s time to talk about penalties and all that because we need to get to the bottom of things first.”

Law enforcers were conducting an illegal cockfighting operation in the area when the victim allegedly took the weapon of one of the policemen, a narrative that Armigo’s family refuted based on eyewitness accounts.

Armigo was supposed to buy ice candy from across his home when the incident happened, according to his family, lamenting his sudden loss.

Police may have mistaken him for the suspects during the chase, based on the family’s theory, saying the man’s fear of the police would not have forced him to fight the law enforcers.

Some witnesses the family talked to also claimed the police intentionally shot Armigo before he was dragged into the cockfighting site, potentially explaining the pool of blood spotted at the crime scene.

Gatchalian promised to closely look into the issue in order to find out the truth about the incident. Four police officers involved in the incident were also placed under restrictive custody to prevent them from potentially influencing the investigation.

They were Police Master Sergeant Christopher Salcedo, and Police Corporal Kenneth Pacheco, Rex Paredes, and Rodel Villar.

Still, the Philippine National Police (PNP) continued to back their men, insisting Arnigo was among the suspects they were going after for facilitating the illegal cockfighting activity.

Police chief General Guillermo Eleazar also called on the internal affairs service to conduct their own investigation into the incident to know if the police committed lapses during their operation.

“Part of my instruction is to finish the investigation at the soonest possible time,” Eleazar said in a press statement.

“I would like to assure our kababayan of quick and impartial conduct of investigation regarding this incident. Meanwhile, I ask all persons who witnessed the incident to help us shed light on what happened so that we can quickly and impartially resolve this case.”

Policemen have repeatedly been embroiled in various controversies over the past years, prompting heavy criticisms from the public who blasted them for targeting civilians.

In April last year, police officers guarding a checkpoint in Quezon City gunned down a former military officer, Cpl. Winston Ragos, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He was accused of fighting back, planting weapons in the crime scene to justify his death.

Last December, Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca also shot his neighbors, Sonya and Frank Gregorio, after an argument with the mother and son in Paniqui, Tarlac.

Eleazar promised to verify these cases during his term as head of the national police force in a bid to strengthen the accountability mechanisms set in place to punish erring cops.

(Beatrice Puente/MM)

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