EDITORIAL - A cop’s staying power

He has been suspended 12 times for various offenses, but Police Officer 1 Jaime Jan Brian Nicabera must have friends in high places. The rookie Marikina cop has managed to keep returning to the service and continue questionable activities.

Nicabera, 29, was apprehended recently by fellow cops on accusations that he tried to extort P100,000 from a man on trial for a drug offense. Nicabera allegedly promised to work for the dismissal of the charges in exchange for a fixer’s fee, which was allegedly brought down to P15,000. He was arrested in a sting operation set up by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group’s Anti-Organized Crime Division at a shopping mall in Mandaluyong.

Probers said Nicabera’s father is a retired police officer, but this can’t be the only explanation for his staying power in the police service. If the accusations against Nicabera are true, it won’t be an unusual case. Too many cops have been apprehended for trying to shake down crime suspects. Sometimes the targets are genuine offenders, but there have also been numerous cases of innocent civilians being framed especially for drug offenses and then forced to pay up in exchange for being cleared of trumped-up charges.

Such cases are among the biggest reasons for the erosion of public trust in the police. Even before the charges against Nicabera are established in court, his story is giving the public another reason to look at an approaching cop with suspicion and even fear.

One positive aspect in this case is that Nicabera’s fellow cops apprehended one of their own, although the arresting officers are from another police unit.  The probe should determine why a cop managed to remain in the service when the rules require expulsion after three suspensions. Those who allowed this to happen should themselves face sanctions.