Rogue cop leads lawmen on car chase

A Pasay City policeman and a companion led a mobile Manila Police District (MPD) patrol team on a car chase in Sta. Cruz Manila past midnight yesterday.

Police Officer 2 Eric Nicodemus, 38, detailed at the Pasay City police community precinct 2, and Restituto Balagtas, 33, of Estrella street in Pasay City, were arrested after their silver Nissan Sentra (PUK-196) beat the red light at the corner of Recto and Rizal Avenues at around 1 a.m.

During questioning, Nicodemus got out of the vehicle and introduced himself as a police officer and demanded that they not be issued a traffic violation receipt. It was at this juncture when a taxicab came to a halt and its occupant, who identified himself as Jerome Lopez, 21, a computer technician, pointed to Nicodemus and Balagtas as the ones who had robbed him minutes ago.

Upon seeing Lopez, Nicodemus boarded his car and sped off, prompting the mobile car crew to give chase. The lawmen caught him at the corner of United Nations Avenue and Roxas Boulevard.

Recovered from the suspects were Lopez’s cell phone, two knives, Nicodemus’ nine-millimeter service firearm with one fully loaded magazine, his police identification cards, his police uniform, and two wallets.

Further investigation showed the car’s license plates were improvised.   – Nestor Etolle