2 cops hurt, 3 alleged criminals nabbed in Batangas

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna – A police official and a non-commissioned officer were hurt in an encounter with suspected criminals in San Juan, Batangas early Tuesday morning.

Superintendent Nicolas Torre III, Batangas police information officer, said in a phone interview that the police official was in critical condition. He declined to identify any of the policemen, both assigned to the provincial police headquarters, pending notification of their families.

An initial field report said that at around 9 a.m., a convoy of policemen from the Batangas Police Intelligence Branch, was on its way to Sitio (sub-village) Riverside for a police operation when a Toyota Revo cut in front of them and armed men stepped out and began firing at the lawmen.

Torre said the policemen retaliated and managed to capture three of the assailants, one of whom was wounded, while the others fled and abandoned the car.

Torre did not identify the three suspects who remained under police investigation.

“But we’re pretty sure they were criminals, based on police records,” he said, without confirming if the undetermined number of armed men were the targets of the police operation.