Cop points gun at bus driver in traffic row

MANILA, Philippines - A policeman assigned to the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) was arrested in Quezon City Monday afternoon for allegedly pointing his gun at a bus driver during a traffic altercation.

Police Officer 1 Jonathan Yasay, 31, detailed at the NCRPO’s Regional Mobile Group, was in a taxi when a Baliwag Transport bus, driven by Gerardo Roxas, 45, cut into its path, according to Superintendent Lino Banaag, head of the Quezon City Police District-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit.

Yasay reportedly told the cabbie to run after the bus and block it. The taxi blocked the path of the bus at the corner of EDSA and Kaingin Road.

Yasay got out of the taxi and kept banging on the door of the bus, waving his firearm and telling Roxas to let him in. Roxas did not open the door of the bus until a passing police patrol team noticed the commotion and arrested Yasay.

Banag said Yasay’s loaded .45 caliber service firearm has been confiscated.

Almost a year ago, Yasay was reprimanded by a Quezon City councilor for firing his gun into the air in a crowded area. The bullet hit the councilor’s car.

Reports said Yasay was trying to break up a fight in the Sanvil subdivision when he fired his gun. – Reinir Padua