QCPD task force probes slay of ‘humble’ comrade

Slain Chief Insp. Roderick Medrano

MANILA, Philippines–Following the cold-blooded murder of a police official in front of his family on Monday, the Quezon City police has formed an investigative team to track down his killers.

Chief Insp. Roderick Medrano, 41, head of the operations section of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 4 based in Novaliches, Quezon City, was gunned down around 7 a.m. on Monday as he was driving his two sons to school.

QCPD director Chief Supt. Richard Albano ordered on Tuesday the creation of Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Medrano to identify the gunmen and the motive behind the killing. It will be headed by Senior Supt. Procopio Lipana, QCPD deputy district director for operations.

Medrano was driving his car on San Diego Drive in Barangay (village) Kaligayahan, the boundary of Fairview and Novaliches, when he slowed down as he approached an intersection. As he did so, two men approached the vehicle and opened fire on him.

It was later revealed that Medrano’s wife and two sons were with him in the car.

A report reaching the QCPD’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) showed that the police official continued to drive after the attack although he ended up crashing the car into the gate of a nearby house.

The gunmen again approached the vehicle and fired at Medrano who at that time was slumped against the steering wheel, the report said. The gunmen then got on a motorcycle driven by a third cohort and sped off toward the Fairview area.

The police official, on the other hand, was taken to Bernardino General Hospital where he was declared dead at 8:15 a.m. His family was unhurt.  Recovered from the ambush site were 21 casings taken from a 9-mm firearm.

Based on his police records, Medrano entered the service in 1999. He was promoted to his current rank in 2013. Novaliches station commander Supt. Norberto Babagay said the police official had been assigned with the station for over a year.

QCPD-CIDU head Chief Insp. Rodelio Marcelo, who is part of the task group, said they had yet to determine the motive for the killing.

“He was a humble person with no known enemies,” Marcelo added of the slain policeman who once headed the QCPD-CIDU General Assignments Section.