THE policeman who went viral after getting involved in a traffic altercation was relieved from his post, Philippine National Police (PNP) Civil Security Group (CSG) spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Eudisan Gultiano said Thursday, October 3, 2024.
The policeman was caught on camera arresting a truck driver at the Mindanao Avenue NLEX toll plaza.
Gultiano said the cop, who has a rank of Police Staff Sergeant, was relieved from his post at the CSG satellite office in Fairview, Quezon City pending the conduct of investigation.
He was also ordered to surrender his issued firearm amid the ongoing probe.
“That’s one thing we are going to investigate as to whether na follow ‘yung standard operating procedure sa action na ginawa niyang pag-arrest (he followed the standard operation procedure),” said Gultiano.
“Hindi pa natin madedetermine (We cannot determine) whether it is excessive again kasi we will be conducting pa administrative investigation kasi when you effect an arrest, titingnan natin ‘yung (we look into the) circumstances. Siguro sa ngayon, wala pa tayong maibibigay na (As of now, we cannot say) whether excessive or not,” she added.
Gultiano said the policeman chased and made the arrest after the truck driver hit his car but refused to stop and instead sped off.
The policeman ordered the truck driver to get off the vehicle, took him down on the ground, and handcuffed him and brought him to the police station.
Both parties later agreed to a settlement.
Gultiano said both the policeman and the truck driver denied that there had been a “shootout” as stated in the viral video.
“As a general rule, hindi naman prohibited ang pulis na mag effect ng arrest for as long as in his presence, an offense or a crime has been committed,” she said.
“So hindi naman pinoprohibit na kapag naka sibilyan attire ang pulis ay hindi siya puwede mag effect ng arrest but again, we would like to clarify also based on the report both parties confirmed na wala talagang barilan na nangyari. So it was confirmed and actually both parties came up with a settlement,” she added. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)
