Drunk trainee cop goes wild, shoots self by accident

MANILA, Philippines -  A drunk police trainee shot himself by accident when he allegedly fired warning shots into the ground to fend off a crowd of people he had threatened and shot at in Sampaloc, Manila before dawn yesterday.

Four residents of Betina street in Sampaloc, accompanied by barangay officials, charged Police Officer 1 Jheryl Louis Bartolome with grave threats, alarm and scandal and indiscriminate firing.

Bartolome, who denied being a relative of Philippine National Police chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome, is currently detained at the Manila Police District (MPD) General Assignment and Investigation Section and waiting for inquest proceedings. The bullet wound in his left leg has been treated.

Mel Mar Fallurin, 21, and three others identified Bartolome as the man who poked his gun at them, threatened them and shot at them at around 2 a.m. while he and his friends were chatting on the sidewalk, according to case officer PO3 Marlon Añonuevo.

He said Bartolome was at a nearby store when he introduced himself as a policeman and announced that he was looking for toughies in the area. He said Bartolome then shot at them, causing them to run in different directions.

Bartolome, who is with MPD Station 1 as a trainee, said he was buying something at the store when the group tried to attack him, prompting him to fire warning shots into the ground to fend them off. One bullet ricocheted and hit him in the left leg.

“They said we don’t recognize police here. We don’t care if you’re a cop or not,” he said.

Bartolome had gone to MPD Station 4 in Sampaloc to report the incident. A few minutes later, the complainants arrived to file their own report.

MPD deputy director for operations Senior Superintendent Robert Po told The STAR he will recommend the filing of charges against the erring trainee.

“He’s just an OJT (on-the-job trainee). Imagine if he becomes police… you’re looking here at a possible rogue cop,” Po said.

Po said under National Capital Region Police Office rules, a police graduate must train at a police station before he or she can be considered a full-fledged Police Officer 1.