Four Filipino police officers were relieved recently in connection with the death of a teenager tied to a raid that happened in Valenzuela. The victim was identified as Edwin Arrigo, an 18-year-old with autism spectrum.
The incident happened during a tupada raid that resulted in a gun scuffle. In a report from ABS-CBN News, the four officers that were involved in the incident were:
- Police Master Sgt. Christopher Salcedo
- Police Cpl. Kenneth Pacheco
- Police Cpl. Rodel Villar
- Police Cpl. Rex Paredes
It was not mentioned who among the four police officers shot Arrigo as of this writing. Per the statement of the police, Arrigo was shot dead when he tried to grab the firearm of one of the police officers. The 18-year-old was reportedly arrested at the tupada site.
However, eyewitnesses claim that one of the policemen applied a bear hug on the teenager and then shot him at close range. Further, they denied claims that Arrigo was caught inside the tupada area.
“The family has an eyewitness, the police are claiming they were only doing their jobs,” Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian stated.
As a result of the conflicting reports between the family of Arrigo and the police, an investigation is being conducted. Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Guillermo Eleazar, who handed down the administrative relief to the four officers vows to dig deeper in the matter to determine what happened in that incident. He wants to know who is at fault and wants to rectify the mistake to prevent it from happening in the future.
Aside from this, Eleazar is open to the involvement of the National Bureau of Investigation. The Arrigo family had requested the NBI to look into the matter to find out the real score behind the 18-year-old teen with special need’s death.
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