Cop who crashed police car faces probe

CEBU, Philippines - A police officer is facing investigation after he rammed a police car into a rock reportedly to avoid hitting a child that crossed the road.

The incident happened in Barangay Molobolo in the northwestern town of Tuburan shortly after midday last Sunday.

Atty. Julius Ompad, deputy chief of the Provincial Investigation and Detective Management Branch, is tasked to investigate the veracity of the report.

The subject of the investigation, PO1 Mohaliden Samod, was driving a Toyota Innova with plate number JEH-489 at that time on his way to serve a subpoena to one Jovency Lucanas, a witness in a frustrated murder case set to be heard on May 4. Samod is a warrant and subpoena server of the Tuburan Police Station.

Samod said the barangay road he was traversing had become narrow because of the people vending on the sides.

“Pwerte nakong likay-likay unya di sad ingon kusog akong dagan,” Samod told The FREEMAN in a phone interview.

All of a sudden, a child crossed the road and while he could have managed the situation, another child reportedly followed, prompting him to maneuver the vehicle sideways to avoid hitting the kid. He then rammed into a rock along the road and damaged the Innova’s bumper.

“Abi nako dili mulabang unya nisunod man og dagan mura’g nagdinaganay,” Samod said.

Samod said he is willing to face the investigation, as he was only doing his job.

In a separate interview, Ompad said that while the incident may be work-related, they would still need to open an investigation as a standard operating procedure. Ompad said the investigation would determine if Samod has administrative liability. – (FREEMAN)