A police officer and assistant professor at a college has defended a fellow cop who was caught on video pointing his gun at two civilians due to a traffic altercation in Taguig.
In the viral video, which has been posted many times on Facebook, police officer Junel Buenaflor, who was not in uniform, is seen pointing his gun and threatening a father and his son, identified as Iranians, in Barangay Bagumbayan, Taguig on April 7.
In the video, the police officer is heard saying, “Dapa! Papatayin ko kayo. Dapa! (Drop to the ground! I will kill you. Drop to the ground!).” He kept pointing his gun at the two civilians and kicked one of them.
The police officer and the two civilians were riding motorcycles when the incident happened.
According to Major Gen. Felipe Natividad, head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), the conflict arose due to a traffic altercation.
“Initially, what we know from the initial investigation, the parties in this case had a traffic altercation and one of the two (2) civilians allegedly kicked the motorcycle of this police officer. The misunderstanding was thereafter amicably settled by the parties in their own freewill and the responding police officers assisted them to Barangay Bagumbayan for documentation of their agreement,” he said.
Netizens are divided on the issue. Some are saying that the police officer was wrong in pointing his gun at the two civilians, while others defended him, saying it was the result of what the two Iranians did to him.
Lt. Col. Gideon Tangan Ines Jr., an assistant professor at the National Police College, and former assistant chief of police for operations at the Makati City Police Station, defended Buenaflor but said his use of profane language and his act of kicking one of the civilians violated police rules. He reminded police officers that they should be courteous at all times in such situations.
“Hindi naman niya naiputok pag naiputok niya at nabaril may violation yon (He did not fire the gun. If he did and someone was hit, there is a violation),” Ines told Manila Bulletin.
In a Facebook post, Ines wrote, “Kahit na hindi ko napanood ang buong video may reason ang pulis kung bakit siya naglabas ng baril at nakikita kong aktong aarestuhin ang mag-ama (Even though I did not watch the who video, the police officer had a reason why he drew his gun and I saw he was about to arrest the father and son).”
He said according to witnesses, the police officer’s motorcycle was ahead of the motorcycle of the two civilians at a stoplight and was signaling to turn right. Because the police officer was slow in turning right, according to Ines, the two civilians allegedly got mad and kicked the motorcycle of the police officer and hit it with a helmet, resulting in the motorcycle to fall down.
“Bumaba ang isang sakay ng motor at akmang hahampasin uli sana ng helmet ang pulis at dahil dito bumunot na ng baril ang pulis (One of the two civilians alighted from the motorcycle and tried to hit the police officer with a helmet, which prompted the latter to draw his gun),” said Ines.
He said under these circumstances, a police officer has the privilege when to draw his issued firearm and use it to arrest.
“That the circumstances be such as to reasonably warrant the belief that the police officer's life is threatened; and the police officer honestly believes that the danger to his life exist,” Ines wrote.
He added, “Take note na may threat na ang buhay ng pulis at ang style niya ng pag aresto ay na aangkop sa aming panuntunan. Ipinagtanggol niya ang kanyang sarili at aarestuhin niya ang nakagawa ng krimen laban sa kanya (Take note that there is a threat to the life of police officer and the style of his act to arrest is in accordance with our rules. He defended himself and he was about to arrest those who committed a crime against him).”
Ines wrote, “Kasuhan mo sila Sarhento, wala kang pananagutan diyan. Huwag niyo kaming husgahan dahil kaming mga pulis ‘we expect the unexpected’ (Sue them, Sergeant, you do not have any liability there. Do not judge us because we, the police, ‘we expect the unexpected’).”
Natividad earlier said Buenaflor will be investigated.
“NCRPO will never condone nor tolerate any form of unlawful conduct among our personnel. In the case of the viral video circulating the social media wherein one police officer was seen pointing his gun upon two civilians and asking them to drop to the ground, thorough investigation is already being conducted to establish the fact behind this incident,” he said.
Natividad said it “is not sufficient reason for a police officer to draw his weapon.”
“Guaranteed that we shall investigate this extensively and should we find any violation of laws and policies, I shall personally ensure that the person liable will face the consequences of his actions,” he said.