Metrobriefs

Citizen’s arrest silences gun of drunk cop

A police officer was arrested by a barangay (village) chair for repeatedly firing his gun while drunk in middle of the street late Tuesday night in Tondo, Manila. PO3 Buchard Ramos, 33, of the Philippine National Police-Regional Police Holding and Administrative Unit in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, was placed under arrest by Ronaldo Torres, chair of Brgy. 60, Zone 5, after residents complained about the officer. Chief Insp. Arsenio Manuel Riparip, head of Manila Police District’s General Assignment and Investigation Section, said a drunk Ramos caused a disturbance in the neighborhood when he fired his government-issued 9-mm pistol at least five times for no apparent reason on Peñalosa Street. Torres noted that as he approached Ramos, who was then in civilian clothes, the officer tried to hide the gun in his waistband but did not resist when frisked and arrested. Torres later confirmed that he was a PNP member when brought the MPD’s Jose Abad Santos station. Annelle Tayao-Juego

QC cops kill drug trade, shooting suspect

A drug peddling suspect also being linked to the killing of a Quezon City resident and the wounding of another was shot dead by the police in Barangay Pinyahan early Wednesday. The Quezon City Police District said a shootout with lawmen then conducting a “saturation drive” killed Freddie Nicole, 36, who was allegedly behind the distribution of “shabu” in the area. QCPD-Kamuning station commander Supt. Limuel Obon said his men encountered Nicole around 6:45 a.m. and that he fired first before they could approach him. Nicole was killed in the exchange and was later found carrying two pistols—a .45-caliber and a 9-mm—as well as 15 sachets of shabu, Obon said. Nicole, also known in the neighborhood as “Biti,” was the suspect in two recent shootings, one killing a male resident and the other sending a woman to the hospital, the officer added. Jaymee T. Gamil

Worksite near Manila resto yields old bombs

Two World War II bombs were accidently unearthed by a backhoe operator at a drainage construction site in Manila early Tuesday morning. Police said workmen of AKH Construction were digging in front of The Aristocrat Restaurant at the corner of Roxas Boulevard and San Andres Street around 3:30 a.m. when backhoe operator Kim Calderon struck something hard, which turned out to be 105-mm cartridges. Senior Insp. Arnold Santos, chief of the Manila Police District’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal chief, said the bombs could still explode if mishandled despite their corroded condition. They were brought to MPD-EOD’s office on United Nations Avenue for proper disposal. Annelle Tayao-Juego