Cop axed, charged for beating up driver

MANILA, Philippines - A police officer was sacked from his post on Friday and slapped with criminal charges after he allegedly beat up and illegally detained a man at the police station where he was assigned.

Chief Inspector Melvin Madrona was administratively relieved of his duties at Fairview police station, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Superintendent Guillermo Eleazar said in a phone interview.

“He was reassigned to the police district headquarters,” he said.

The Counter-Intelligence Task Force of the Philippine National Police (PNP) filed charges of physical injury, grave threat, grave coercion and arbitrary detention against Madrona before the city prosecutor’s office on March 21, CITF spokesman Chief Inspector Jewel Nicanor said over the phone. Madrona is also facing an administrative case.

The cases stemmed from the complaint of the victim, identified only as David, who claimed the lawman assaulted him following a road altercation near the police station on the night of March 17.

In a television interview, David said he was entering a U-turn slot along Commonwealth Avenue when the car in front of him, driven by Madrona, moved backwards. He maneuvered his car in reverse but stopped because of another vehicle behind him.

He honked his car’s horns to get Madrona’s attention but the police officer still hit his vehicle. He went down and started taking pictures of the accident, which infuriated the police officer.

“He went down and told me why I hit his vehicle,” David recalled as saying. At first, he was not aware that the driver was a police officer, who warned him that the victim would never want to know who he was.

“When I told him that he might be drunk, he got angry,” he said.

When Madrona grabbed his shirt, he ran towards the Fairview police station, unaware that Madrona was assigned there.

Surveillance footage at the station showed David running toward a group of about six policemen to ask for help. A few seconds later, Madrona, dressed in civilian clothes, running towards the victim.

Madrona threw the victim to the ground and beat him up. The footage also showed the other policemen lifting him and bringing him to a cell, where Madrona again confronted him. He was later seen being put in the cell with the other prisoners.

David said Madrona cursed at him and kicked him in the ear. While in the jail cell, Madrona’s colleagues told David to sign a document in which he admitted being the one responsible for the incident.

Fearing for his safety, David said he agreed and was released. He filed a complaint with the CITF a few days later.

Eleazar said he immediately coordinated with the Fairview station commander to preserve the surveillance footage.

Madrona’s colleagues are being investigated for negligence after the CITF found that the incident was not recorded in the police blotter, he added.