MANILA, Philippines — A police officer ended up in jail for allegedly indiscriminately firing his gun and threatening a civilian in Las Piñas City on Thursday – a day shy of his wedding.
Cpl. Branard Castañeda, assigned to the Las Piñas police substation 5, was arrested at Rebecca’s Compound in Barangay Almanza Dos at around 3:30 a.m.
Las Piñas police chief Col. Jaime Santos said they received a call from a concerned citizen claiming Castañeda was firing a gun in the neighborhood.
An hour later, another complainant, Diomedes Leyte, alleged that while he was unloading a pillow from his motorcycle, Castañeda approached him for “no apparent reason” and aimed a gun at his head.
Leyte managed to wrest Castañeda’s firearm. He turned it over to the nearest barangay post.
Police officers arrested Castañeda and brought him to the city police headquarters while his firearm was turned over to the Southern Police District for ballistics testing.
Santos said Castañeda’s wedding was scheduled yesterday. However, the suspect cannot petition for bail due to the election campaign period.