Road rage kills cop

A member of the Caloocan City police force was mauled and later shot to death with his own gun by three men following a traffic altercation shortly before midnight in Caloocan City Friday.

Caloocan City police chief, Senior Superintendent Benjardi Mantele, identified the victim as SPO4 Alejandro Valdez, 41, assigned to the local police intelligence section and a resident of Bagong Silang, Caloocan City.

He succumbed to a gunshot wound in the left side of the body and was declared dead on arrival at around 11:30 p.m. at the FEU Hospital in Quezon City. The suspects who were later arrested included Reynaldo Ramirez, 47, businessman, of 3534 La Forteza Subdivision; Dave Neyra, 35, driver, of 679 Diamond Street and Fabian de la Cruz, 35, businessman, of Area A, all in Camarin, Caloocan City.

Investigation showed that prior to the shooting, Valdez and the suspects figured in a vehicular accident along Captain F. Samano Road, in Camarin. A heated altercation followed prompting Valdez, who was in civilian clothes, to identify himself as a police officer. But the suspects started attacking the policeman and one of them grabbed the victim’s firearm, a caliber .45 Llama, and shot him once in the body. Responding elements from Precinct 1 arrested the suspects and recovered Valdez’s gun. – Jerry Botial and Pete Laude