PAF man kills Quezon City cop in bar fight

MANILA, Philippines - A member of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) faces homicide and direct assault charges for allegedly punching and kicking a police officer who tried to stop a bar fight in Cubao, Quezon City before dawn yesterday.

Staff Sergeant Dominador Aguilar Baldemoro was arrested in the bar where he figured in a fight with two other customers before he attacked the victim, Senior Police Officer 1 Reynaldo Mateo, who later died.

SPO2 Rafael Peralta of the Quezon City Police District-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU) said the incident happened at around 2 a.m.

Baldemoro’s companion,Noli Villafuerte, was also arrested for assaulting men in uniform who were responding to a call for assistance.

Peralta said the victim and other police officers from the QCPD Station 7 were alerted to a commotion inside the bar and tried to stop the fighting. However, Baldemoro, allegedly drunk, turned his ire on policemen and punched and kicked Mateo in the groin.

The victim was rushed to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center, where he died. Probers have yet to determine if the blows inflicted by Baldemoro caused Mateo’s death or whether he hit his head when he fell.

Peralta said Police Officer 3 Joselito Mendoza has been tasked to handle the case against Baldemoro and Villafuerte.