A drug suspect who was charged earlier this year with a policeman’s murder was shot and killed when he reportedly tried to grab another lawman’s gun in front of the Navotas police headquarters on Thursday morning.
Mercury Rodrigo Jr., 28, was immediately taken to the nearest hospital where he was declared dead on arrival by a doctor.
The shooting happened at 3:30 a.m. Thursday after Rodrigo and seven men—all residents of Market III, Barangay NBBN in Navotas City—were arrested in a police raid for possession of drug paraphernalia on Wednesday evening.
Based on the report submitted by Navotas police chief Senior Supt. Romeo Razon Uy to the Northern Police District headquarters, Rodrigo and the seven other drug suspects were taken to the Navotas police headquarters. With them were several other policemen, two of them identified as PO1 Rolando Cruz and PO3 Allan Torregosa.
Uy said in his report that upon alighting from the police car, Rodrigo, whose hands were cuffed in front of him, kicked Cruz who was just about to get out of the vehicle.
Rodrigo then tried to grab the policeman’s 9 mm firearm, prompting Torregosa to shoot him.
Uy said that Rodrigo, also known as “Jay-ar,” was charged with murder earlier this year after he was tagged in the killing of another Navotas policeman, PO1 Julius Mendoza, on March 13.
According to Uy, the policemen involved in Rodrigo’s death have been taken into restrictive custody.