Knockdown No. 2 for QC cop

Three weeks after he was sent to a hospital allegedly by a punch from a raging American basketball player, a Quezon City policeman again ended up in the same facility, this time as a hit-and-run victim.

PO2 Anselmo Lazatin, 34, a member of the Quezon City Police District’s (QCPD) Kamuning station, was on his way home to Caloocan City on a motorcycle shortly before noon Tuesday when a black car running counterflow sent him flying off his bike.

Lazatin remained under observation on Wednesday and could face surgery at East Avenue Medical Center, the same hospital where he was treated after his March 27 encounter with Jamelle Cornley, an import in the Philippine Basketball Association, whom QCPD policemen arrested on Holy Wednesday for causing damage at the lobby of Sir William’s Hotel on Timog Avenue.

It took 10 policemen to arrest the 6’5” Cornley, who in the process allegedly knocked down Lazatin. The American denied throwing a punch but admitted pushing back the officer.

Camp Karingal traffic sector aide Emmy Valderama said the hit-and-run incident happened around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the corner of East and V. Luna Avenues in Barangay Pinyahan.

Lazatin was on his Yamaha motorcycle cruising along East Avenue toward Quezon City Hall when the black car (ZNF-552) went against the flow of traffic and sideswiped the policeman’s bike, Valderama said.

In a phone interview with the Inquirer, Lazatin said he was scheduled to undergo several tests to check for internal injuries.

“(The doctors) said I am still under observation because they are worried that I might need surgery on my shoulder and collarbone,” he said, sounding like he was still in pain.