FOLLOWING SHOOTING OF MUSLIM BOY 3 AC cops relieved
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO - The two police of ficers involved in the shooting of a Muslim boy in Angeles City were relieved from their posts along with their station commander.
Police Regional Office III Director Chief Superintendent Amador Corpus confirmed to Sun.Star Pampanga that he ordered the temporary relief of Police Officer 1 Aizel Dean Marie Lopez and Police Officer 1 Osmond Rivera.
Lopez and Rivera are subject of an investigation following their alleged shooting of 16year-old Salman Pundato Macal in Barangay Balibago in Angeles City r ecent l y.
“I ordered the city director of Angeles City to temporarily relieve the involved policemen while the investigation is ongoing,” Corpus said.
He added that their commander at the Angeles City Police Station 4 identified as Senior Inspector Dange Cabungkal has also been ordered relieved from his post due to “command responsibility.”
The three policemen are now in “floating status,” Corpus said.
Meanwhile, Macal is still confined at the Jose B. Lingad Regional Memorial Hospital here and is now in stable condition.
However, the victim’s mom Kayasama fears that her son would be paralyzed for life since the 9mm bullet that hit him damaged his spinal cord.
The Angeles City police said that Macal was hit by a 9mm pistol bullet, but it could not yet confirm if it was fired from one of the police officers’service firearms.
It could be remembered that Lopez and Rivera claimed in the police report that the incident was an “armed encounter.”
They alleged that Macal first pointed his gun to the police officers, but the victim’s mother refuted saying his son never owned a gun.
The boy was reportedly test-driving a motorcycle near their residence when his path was blocked by a police mobile patrol car.
After Macal supposedly hit the patrol car, the two police officers alighted from the car and the two parties engaged in a discussion until the lady cop shot him as seen in the CCTV footage released to media.
They stated in the police report they filed that Macal pulled out a firearm and squeezed its trigger as they were about to approach him. They said that the gun did not fire, only “a click sound was heard” and attempted to again to squeeze the trigger.
It was also stated in the police report that they were on patrol when they saw Salman on board a TMX motorcycle and his companion on another motorcycle.
“Upon seeing the mobile patrol, the duo riders started their motorcycles’engines and sped off hurriedly,” they stated, adding they chased them and were able to catch up with the teenager while his companion was able to get away.
However, Kayasama said she was in her store looking at his son when the two police officers were talking to him and was shocked when she suddenly heard a gunshot.
“Nu’ng makita ko ’yung anak ko na nabaril ng pulis, bigla akong tumakbo. Nakita ko na may tama ang anak ko. Sabi ko, bakit ninyo binaril ang anak ko wala namang kasalanan? Sabi nu’ng pulis, humihingi po ako ng dispensa, disgrasya lang ang nangyari, sabi ng pulis,” Kayasama said in a statement.
She belied the police officers’statement that her son was carrying a gun with him as he never owned one.
“Wala pong dalang baril ang anak ko. Wala po siyang dala kahit na ano mula pa nu’ng nakabulagta siya, hanggang isakay siya sa mobile at hanggang sa ospital, wala po siyang dala,” she said.
She added that their family is set to file a case against the two police officers who shot her son.