Cop caught on torture video: It’s discipline

SAN PEDRO CITY—A town police chief caught on video hitting a theft suspect with a plank of wood likened his action to a father trying to “discipline” a wayward child.

Chief Insp. Jigger Noceda, the relieved police chief of Carmona, Cavite province, insisted he was only trying to “scare” the suspect into giving up what he stole.

“It was no more than like a father trying to discipline his son. It was not torture. We know how torture is like and we know it’s illegal,” said Noceda by phone on Friday.

Noceda was relieved on Monday as the chief of police of Carmona after his superior, Cavite police director Senior Supt. Jonnel Estomo, got hold of a copy of a video that showed Noceda hitting a detained man with a piece of wood.

The three-minute video also showed other Carmona policemen laughing at their police chief’s actions.

According to Estomo, a concerned citizen sent him on Monday an envelope that contained a compact disc. After seeing the footage, he immediately ordered Noceda’s relief pending an investigation.

Noceda was recalled to the provincial headquarters and was replaced by Chief Insp. Rey Ochavo.

Estomo said he would also order the relief of the other policemen seen on the video “because they did nothing.”

Noceda admitted that the incident happened on Jan. 25 at the Carmona police station. He said the man he was hitting was a helper in a construction company who was accused by the firm’s owner of stealing personal items from another employee.

Asked why the arrest of the man was not recorded in any police blotter, Noceda reasoned that the complainant did not wish to file any charges against his former helper and only wanted to retrieve the stolen items, among them a wallet, a necklace and a cell phone.

Noceda said that after the man gave up the items to the police, the business owner “forgave” him and the issue was settled.

“We did nothing else to him,” he said.

Noceda believed the video, which appeared to have been taken secretly, was shot by some policemen in Carmona “who wanted to discredit me.”

“These were the cops who did not wish to follow (my leadership). They made several copies of the video and sent it to our provincial and regional officers and even to the media,” he said.