Suspected helmet thieves gang up on policeman, shoot him with own gun in Kamagayan

A policeman was beaten up and then shot dead with his own gun by two men who took his crash helmet past 2 a.m. yesterday on P. Del Rosario Street in Cebu City.
PO2 Gerlito Estremos of the Fuente Police Station died on the spot.
He was shot in the face.
The victim was not in uniform although he was supposed to be on patrol at that time, police sources said.
Estremos chased the thief who had grabbed his helmet but was eventually pulled off his motorbike, mauled and shot with his own .45 caliber pistol at a street corner across the University of San Carlos.
A crash helmet from an authorized dealer costs P2,800.
Estremeros had been twice victimized before by a gang that steals motorcycle helmets.
The killing came just two days after a traffic enforcer was fatally shot while on duty in Banilad, Cebu City and about five days after a municipal councilor was gunned down in Argao town in south Cebu.
Estremos became a patrol team leader just a week ago after serving as a desk officer for over a year, said PO3 Allan Vallejo, the victim’s colleague.
Estremos’ 24-hour duty was from 8 a.m. on Friday until 8 a.m. on Saturday.
At 12:05 a.m. on Saturday, Estremos and another policeman, PO1 Brando Nacario, patrolled their assigned area on separate motorcycles because their patrol car was under repair.
But Nacario went back to the police station while Estremos proceeded to R. Landon Street.
As Estremos parked his motorcycle, a man grabbed his crash helmet and sped off on a motorcycle. The policeman immediately chased the thief.
Vallejo said that upon reaching P. Del Rosario Street, Estremos saw the same motorcycle he was chasing but this time, there were two men on board.
He said the two men drove slowly as they argued heatedly. Eventually, they stopped near the Postal Bank. The backrider disembarked, collared the policeman and pulled him off from his motorcycle.
PO3 Vallejo said the two men then beat up the police officer and took his .45 caliber pistol. One of the perpetrators used the gun to strike Estremos in the head several times.
The police officer was then shot in the face before the assailants fled.
Police said a security guard at a nearby church and a passing taxi driver saw what happened.
Recovered from the crime scene were two empty shells believed to be from .45-caliber pistol stolen from Estremos.
Senior Supt. Mariano Natu-el, acting chief of police of Cebu City, said the slain police officer was persistent in patrolling the streets as he wanted to look for a gang that victimizes motorcyle riders.
He said Estremos was twice victimized by these thieves.
“That’s why he would go around the area always looking for these helmet thieves,” Natu-el said.
Natu-el immediately called a command conference and designated Chief Insp. Alexis Relado, chief of the Investigation and Detective Management Branch, to lead the probe into the police officer’s killing.
The incident is the third fatal shooting incident in Cebu City in just a week.
Last Thursday, a traffic enforcer of the Cebu City Integrated Traffic Operations Management (Citom), Armando Daligdig, was shot dead while manning traffic in barangay Banilad. A former policeman, Geoffrey Borinaga, was arrested and charged with the killing.
Also last Thursday, one Jenrey Flores was also fatally shot by car-riding gunmen in Sitio Maracas in barangay Lahug.
Darling of the press
PO3 Vallejo described PO2 Estremos as a “darling of the media” because of his friendly relations with news reporters.
“Buotan man gud kaayo tong tawhana unya komedyante ug kusog motagad sa media,” he said. (He’s a very kind and jolly person and he liked making friends with the media.)
TV reporter Leslie Caminade-Vestil said Estremos would usually be the first to greet them “Good morning” when reporters would arrive at the police station.
Estremos joined the police service in 2006 after graduating with a Criminology degree from the University of Cebu.
The flag at Police Station 2 was flown at half-staff beginning yesterday to signify that the police are mourning Estremos’ death.