QC cop in traffic accident faces new case

MANILA, Philippines - A Quezon City policeman, who accidentally hit a motorcycle rider while chasing a group of men, is facing another criminal case for shooting a retired police officer in 2011, investigators found out.

Police Officer 3 Arnold Sagun was served another warrant of arrest while detained at the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU), in connection with a 2011 case for attempted murder.

The warrant was issued in April 2013 against Sagun for allegedly attacking retired Senior Police Officer 2 Jose Oliva in Barangay Batasan Hills, said Chief Inspector Rodel Marcelo, head of the QCPD-CIDU.

Sagun, assigned with the QCPD Station 10, posted P120,000 bail on Friday before Judge Caridad Walse-Lutero of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 223, who issued the arrest order. He was released yesterday morning.

Spray painting

In September 2011, Sagun figured in an argument with Oliva, a retired policeman, when Sagun was still assigned at QCPD Station 6. Sagun allegedly fired his baby Armalite rifle at the victim after accusing Oliva of spray-painting the words “Senior Pulis Patola,” referring to a type of gourd, on his house.

Charges of malicious mischief and attempted murder were initially filed before the fiscal, but only the attempted murder case was elevated to the court in 2013 after a preliminary investigation.

Earlier, Sagun was arrested for wounding a motorcycle rider on New Year’s Day. He shot Alex Chiong Jr. in Sanville Subdivision in Barangay Culiat while he was chasing men who picked on his relatives. The frustrated murder case against Sagun was set for further investigation by the fiscal.

Following his arrest, CIDU personnel checked his background and found about an unserved arrest warrant against Sagun for the 2011 case.

QCPD director Chief Superintendent Richard Albano earlier said Sagun could face dismissal from the service once the administrative cases are set into motion.