The Dumaguete Police Office is investigating a botched police operation in that almost killed a civilian last Thursday night.
A man who identified himself as a 24-year-old junior law student drove up to the Dumaguete police headquarters that evening to report that the car he was driving was intercepted by a green sport utility vehicle around 7:20 p.m. along San Jose Ext. and four armed men alighted and ordered him to come out of his vehicle.
The man, who initially asked reporters not to reveal his identity out of fear for his life, told police that he sensed trouble because the men did not bother to identify themselves.
He instinctively turned around and sped away as the armed men in civilian clothes fired at his car, hitting his two rear tires and his car’s hood. He drove to the police station to seek assistance and saw that the green SUV had followed him all the way to the station.
He told the policemen on duty to seize the SUV and a policeman went to the vehicle and talked with the passengers. To the victim’s surprise, the SUV passengers left their vehicle at the police station and walked away bolstering the victim’s belief that those who attacked him were law enforcement agents connected with the police. The vehicle was not anymore in the police parking area by Friday.
Supt. Crisaleo Tolentino, Dumaguete police chief, told the MetroPost that what happened last Thursday was actually a police operation that resulted in a case of mistaken identity.
Tolentino said he was now investigating the policemen involved in the incident but he assured that the matter has already been addressed and both parties have already clarified matters between them. But the investigation is being conducted to ensure that no similar incident will happen again. (with PNA reports)
