Man struggles with police, dies

CEBU, Philippines - An alleged drug user died in Consolacion town while grappling for the police chief’s gun during a hot pursuit operation in Barangay Danglag last Friday afternoon.

The fatality was identified as Arman Caburnay, who died at the hospital after he tried to grapple for the firearm of Senior Insp. Wilbert Parilla, officer-in-charge of Consolacion Police Station.

Parilla, in an interview with The FREEMAN, said it was around 2 pm last Friday when they received information from a concerned citizen regarding an ongoing drug session under some bamboo trees in Barangay Danglag.

Together with Police Officers 1 Rey Ardrique and Louie Jay Ferrer, Parilla responded to the report.

Posing as habal-habal drivers, Parilla said Ardrique and Ferrer drove two motorcycles while he served as a back rider.

They were already near a group of at least six men who suddenly scampered to different directions upon noticing their arrival.

Parilla said he was then wearing a pair of maong pants, t-shirt and slippers. He also wore a hat and covered his face with a towel like other habal-habal drivers do, but one of the suspects was still able to identify him.

The police officers chased and arrested three of the suspects.

Arrested were Pascual Talisic, 31, of San Vicente, Liloan town; Butch Vegamora, 28, a native of Lucena City presently residing at Catarman, Liloan; and Ramel Licanda, 27, of Valencia, Alegria town.

A small plastic pack of suspected shabu was each recovered from Talisic and Licanda’s possession while three hand-rolled tin foils and an improvised tooter also made of tin foil was recovered from Vegamora.

Parilla chased Caburnay by himself as the latter dashed some 300 meters away from the pot session site.

Parilla said he was able to corner Caburnay at the riverbank in Danglag-Garing.

He tried to arrest Caburnay but the latter resisted arrest.

“Nagkaligiray mi kilid sa sapa. Midahilig siya padung sa sapa, abi tingali niya di ko mutaak sa tunaan sa kabaw, Na-adto gyud mi sa sapa ug nag-ilogay sa akong armas, (We were rolling by the riverbank but he slid towards the river. He might have thought I wouldn’t wade into the carabao mud pit. We reached the river while grappling for my gun.) ” Parilla said.

For about five minutes, Parilla said the suspect tried to grapple for his 9 mm berretta pistol, which he also tried to keep away from the suspect.

“Paakon na man ko niya. Pero ako g’yud gipaningkamutan na di niya makuha ang armas, (He wanted to bite me but I tried to keep the gun away from him.) ” he said.

For a while there, Parilla said he worried that the suspect might overpower him because the former is larger and taller than him. Fortunately, Parilla said he was stronger enough.

The suspect was still grappling for the gun when he suddenly lost his strength.

“Mikalit ra siya ug kaluya ug maayo, mura’g gi-hapo. Abi ko nag-inartista ra but naglisod na man g’yud siya ug ginhawa ug nangluspad so ako siya gidala sa kilid sa sapa, (He suddenly went limp as if he was very tired. I thought he was just acting but he had difficulty breathing and went pale so I brought him to the riverbank.)” Parilla said.

Parilla then picked up his cellular phone, which he threw away shortly before the scuffle, and called the police station to ask for an ambulance.

While waiting, Parilla noticed a small cellophane pack, believed to be a shabu container, floating on the river and might have fell from the suspect’s possession during the struggle.

The ambulance arrived and took Caburnay to Eversley Child’s Sanitarium and Hospital in Mandaue City where the suspect was declared dead by the doctor.

In the presence of the police, hospital utility worker Oscar Esguerra recovered a small sachet of suspected shabu from the suspect’s pocket.

Parilla said the three other suspects are now detained and will face charges for violating the Dangerous Drugs Act.  (FREEMAN)