Mom of slain teen with special needs says Valenzuela cops stole son’s shirt to hide evidence

MANILA, Philippines — The mother of an 18-year-old boy with special needs on Tuesday accused Valenzuela cops involved in a cockpit raid of stealing his son’s shirt to get rid of fingerprints on them, before dragging him to the cockfight area “like a rooster.”

The victim, Edwin Arnigo, previously diagnosed with autism, allegedly tried to grab the service firearm of one of the policemen, an allegation slammed by his mother Helen. The boy was subsequently shot dead by Valenzuela policemen.

“Gusto ko mahanap ang damit ng anak ko, dahil hinubaran nila doon sa pinangyarihan ng binaril. Kinaladkad pa po nila, malayo-layo po. Pagdating nila doon sa tupadahan, hinubaran po, wala na pong damit pantaas ang anak ko nung nakita nung papa niya at kapatid niya,” she said over Teleradyo on Tuesday.

(I want to find my son’s clothes, they undressed him on the scene of the incident. They dragged him until they reached the cockfighting area, then undressed him. My son was naked when he was found by his father and sibling.)

Arnigo said police must removed her son’s shirt in order to hide the evidence of their fingerprints on his shirt.

“Ang nasa isip ko, ginawa nila yun, dahil ang fingerprints nila ng pulis na yon. Nandoon sa damit ng anak ko, dahil ginawa nilang manok eh. Binibitbit nila yung anak ko doon papunta doon sa  tupadahan ng sabungan,” she lamented.

(In my mind, they did that because there are fingerprints on his clothing. He was treated like a rooster, when they carried my son to the cockfighting area.)

The mother further accused the policemen of blocking her husband and another son’s efforts to bring Edwin to the hospital.

“Naitakbo po pero matagal bago naitakbo yung anak ko, yung papa nya at mga kapatid niya na pumunta yung anak ko na maisugod, hinarangan ng mga pulis na nagbaril sa anak ko,” she claimed.

(His father and one of my children went there to bring him to the hospital. It took time because the police who shot my son blocked their way.)

“Wait lang daw po, easy lang, easy lang. Sumigaw na po yung anak ko: ‘Easy lang po ba, kapatid ko po yan, eh special po yan, paano niyo po masabi na easy easy lang?’” she recalled.

(Police said ‘just wait, take it easy.’ Then my son shouted: ‘How can we stay easy, he is my brother, he is a special child, how can we take this easily?’)

INQUIRER.net sought for the comment of the Philippine National Police (PNP), but they have yet to respond as of posting.

PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar on Monday vowed to probe the incident, but the family requested the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a separate investigation.

“Sa totoo lang po — hindi naman lahat ng pulis — wala po akong tiwala sa mga pulis ngayon sa nangyari sa anak ko,” she said.

(To be honest, although not all cops are like that, I already lost confidence in the police because of what happened to my son.)

EDV