Town police chief, 6 others sacked for mistaken killing: Victim turns out to be robbers' hostage

MANILA, Philippines –  The police chief of Sta. Ana, Pampanga and six of his men were relieved of their posts for the killing of a driver they mistook for a robbery suspect last Tuesday.

Relieved were Chief Inspector Edgardo Corral, Sta. Ana police chief; SPO1 Dante Almario, SPO1 Reynaldo Ocampo, and PO2s Froilan Arcilla, Edmond Mercado, Joan Raymundo and Nerissa Soliman.

Senior Superintendent Petronio Retirado, Pampanga police director, said the seven police officers would remain at the provincial headquarters while the investigation into the death of Carlos de Leon is ongoing.

Corral and his men reportedly responded to a report about a heist in Angat, Bulacan where the robbers took a Honda Civic and fled toward Pampanga.

Corral’s group intercepted the stolen vehicle and shot it out with the car’s occupants when one of them reportedly fired at the police officers. One of the suspects escaped toward a crowded public market.

Responding lawmen later discovered that the bloodied man in the vehicle, De Leon, was a hostage of the robbers.

Corral admitted that he and his men responded to the robbery without verifying the real situation.

– With Ding Cervantes