Held for road mishap, man shot dead by police officer

ALIAGA, Nueva Ecija—A man in handcuffs, who turned out to be a former bodyguard of a losing mayoral candidate here, died on Tuesday after he was shot by the town police chief when he allegedly grabbed the gun of a policeman escorting him to a hospital.

Chief Inspector Roberto Sena, town police chief, said they were taking Ferdinand Diaz, 46, to a hospital in Cabanatuan City for a blood alcohol test when the latter allegedly grabbed the gun of Police Officer 2 Jefferson Constantino at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Sena said he was in the passenger seat of the police vehicle driven by PO3 Rene Biag. Diaz was guarded by Constantino, PO1 Albert Calosa, PO1 Renante Pineda and PO2 Severino Alarcon.

Sena said he alighted after Alarcon asked to stop the vehicle.

He said he immediately stepped out of the passenger seat to look for Diaz and saw the suspect pointing a gun at PO2 Alarcon. He said the suspect fired once, forcing the officer to fire back. He hit the suspect in the body and head.

Sena said Diaz was held by the police for a supposed traffic violation after his motorcycle bumped the rear of a Hyundai Accent driven by Renaldi Borja, 36, of Cabanatuan City.

Diaz, a resident of Bulacan, was employed by losing mayoral candidate Rene Ordanes, said his wife, Remedios.

Remedios doubted the police’s account of what transpired before her husband was shot and killed.

She said she could not believe Diaz would grab a gun from a policeman while in handcuffs and while accompanied by six policemen. Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon