4 cops in 2011 shooting fired for abusing power
The Court of Appeals (CA) has found four police officers guilty of grave misconduct in the fatal shooting of a man and his son in 2011 due to excessive use of force and ordered their dismissal from the service.
The ruling of the appellate court’s Third Division, which was promulgated on Jan. 14, reversed the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman in 2012 to dismiss the complaint filed by the family of the victims.
Ordered dismissed from the police service were Police Capt. Lodovico Eleazar Jr., Police Cpl. Jomar Camat and Billy Joe Collado, and Police Staff Sergeant Erwin Lopez. Their retirement benefits were also deemed forfeited in addition to being slapped a permanent disqualification from holding any job in government.
Contrary to the claim of the police officers that they acted in self-defense during a “shootout” with the victims, Rodrigo Eleazar and his son Gener, the court noted that the results of a paraffin test revealed that no gunpowder residue was found on the victims. In addition, an autopsy showed that they were shot mostly in the back.
Disgraceful acts
“Police brutality and needless violence against civilians are disgraceful acts that cannot be condoned as [these] erode the very essence of law enforcement officers’ oath, which is to protect the communities they serve,” the appellate court said in a decision authored by Associate Justice Ruben Reynaldo Roxas.
On June 19, 2011, 64-year-old Rodrigo Eleazar and his son, 34-year-old Gener, were fatally shot in their house in Laoac, Pangasinan, with witnesses alleging the victims were targeted by police and barangay officials, including barangay Captain Edgar Eleazar and barangay “Kagawad” Rogelio Lopez, following a violent altercation.
The two victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds and showed no signs of gunpowder residue, contradicting the claims of the respondents that there was a shootout.
The Eleazar family filed an administrative complaint for grave misconduct against the police and village officials, but the Ombudsman dismissed the case, citing insufficient evidence to challenge the version of events presented by the respondents.
In their defense, the police and village officials said the victims had fired at them, adding that they had gone to the house of the Eleazars in response to a report that Gener was firing his gun indiscriminately.
They also said that two .45-caliber pistol firearms belonging to the two fatalities were recovered at the scene of the incident, along with several spent shells that came from the guns.
Excessive force
The appellate court, however, said that the “respondent-police officers exhibited excessive force—an act constitutive of a clear intent to violate the law or a flagrant disregard of, at the very least, the Revised Philippine National Police Operational Procedures.”
Their use of excessive force demonstrated a blatant disregard for established protocols and human life, amounting to grave misconduct, it added.
While the court found the role of the barangay officials in the shooting to be “vague,” it ruled that they were proven to have assaulted Gener and consequently ordered their suspension for two years, 11 months, and 11 days.
As for the four police officers, the appellate court ruled that should they be separated from service before their dismissal could be enforced, the penalty would be converted into a fine equivalent to their one-year salary, payable to the Office of the Ombudsman.
