Scuffle with officer leaves man wounded

CEBU, Philippines - A man who tried to allegedly grab a policeman's service firearm was "accidentally" shot in their scuffle Friday evening in Zone Agbati, Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City.

Judy Sitiota, of legal age from Barangay Pusok, Lapu-Lapu City, was wounded in his abdomen after he engaged in a scuffle with Police Officer 3 Roldan Balingbing of the Investigation and Detective Management Branch of the Mandaue City Police Office.

Senior Police Officer 2 Marcos Noval Jr. said prior to the incident, IDMB head, Chief Inspector Michael Anthony Bastes, received a call about an armed person in the said place.

Noval said PO3 Balingbing was the first to arrive in the scene while the other responding officers arrived several minutes after onboard their mobile van.

Noval said the place where the incident took place was a very dim area, and is reportedly a favorite hangout of criminals in the city.

Sitiota reportedly failed to sense Balingbing's arrival and was just casually holding his .38 caliber snubnoose revolver.

Balingbing then held Sitiota's hand and identified himself as a policeman, but the latter allegedly resisted and struggled with Balingling who then tried to grab the revolver from the suspect's possession.

When the suspect's gun got tossed away, a scuffle ensued between the two, as the suspect tried to grab Balingbing's .9 mm caliber service firearm.

Later into the brawl, Balingbing's service firearm accidentally burst and hit the victim in his abdomen, just in time for other responding officers to arrive.

The suspect was rushed to the Mandaue City Hospital and was later transferred to the Don Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.

Noval said they later learned that the suspect may have resisted arrest because his backpack contained two medium size and two small sachets of suspected shabu, which they confiscated.

Cases of illegal possession of firearms and violation of the RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 are being prepared against the suspect.  (FREEMAN)