A rookie policeman was arrested Friday night after he reportedly shot a tricycle driver following a traffic altercation in Quezon City.
Apparently not contented with firing his gun, PO1 Edison Canaveral allegedly even handcuffed the wounded driver who had the bad luck to cross the police officer’s path that night.
Fortunately for the victim, Lauro Lorenzo, 43, some law enforcers assigned to the Novaliches police station noticed the commotion and arrested their colleague.
Station commander Supt. Marcelino Pedrozo said Canaveral has been turned over to the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit.
The rookie policeman was initially brought to the Novaliches police station after the alleged road rage incident between him and Lorenzo in Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon.
Self-defense
But according to Canaveral’s wife, Charmaine, her husband fired shots in self-defense as the tricycle driver allegedly tried to stab him.
Both the policeman and his victim were cruising along Damong Maliit St. in Jordan Heights Subdivision at around 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Canaveral was with his wife on a motorcycle while Lorenzo was driving a tricycle.
At the time of the incident, Canaveral, 28, had a little spat on the road with Lorenzo although it was unclear how the altercation began.
The policeman dropped off his wife at a safe distance and went back to look for Lorenzo.
“He (Canaveral) came back a few minutes later and waited for the other man,” police said, citing Lorenzo’s account.
Upon spotting Lorenzo, the policeman allegedly shot him in the left leg with his caliber .45 service firearm. The bullet pierced Lorenzo’s other leg.
Lorenzo was brought to the East Avenue Medical Center for treatment.
The policeman’s wife, however, claimed that it was Lorenzo who started the ruckus and that he appeared to be drunk.
Charmaine told police that Lorenzo had sped up from behind them, overtook them and almost causing the Canaverals’ motorcycle to lose balance.
She alleged that it was the tricycle driver who got off his vehicle and pulled out a bladed weapon.
Meanwhile, Pedrozo found out that it was not the first time that Canaveral figured in road rage incidents.
“We learned that last year when he was still a trainee, he also shot an FX driver in another traffic altercation,” Pedrozo claimed but added he did not know what happened to the case.
Canaveral’s wife denied that there was a similar incident in the past.