EPD cop, pa face family of slain mechanic

MANILA, Philippines - An Eastern Police District (EPD) policeman and his father, accused of allegedly beating to death a mechanic who worked for the Manila city government, faced the victim’s family yesterday.

Police Officer 1 Reynold Lopez and his father, Rafael, were brought to the Manila Police District (MPD) detention center by EPD police officers.

Reynold said the death of Leopoldo de la Cruz, 59, “was an accident. I really cannot recall what happened.”

He and his father refused to talk to reporters when they were brought to their detention cell.

According to initial reports, De la Cruz reportedly shouted in jest while relieving himself as Reynold drove past him on a motorcycle on Fabia street in Tondo, Manila on the night of March 23.

Reynold went back to confront the victim. According to De la Cruz’s family, Reynold went home, got his gun and, with his father in tow, came back to give the victim a severe beating.

The police report stated that the victim’s granddaughter, Lani Caparas, said Reynold pistol-whipped De la Cruz and slammed his head against a wall.

De la Cruz’s widow said she shouted at the suspects, telling them to stop beating her husband. “He was drunk and was 59 years old. How could he possibly fight them?” she said.

De la Cruz was rushed to Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, where he lay comatose for about a week before dying due to skull fractures and brain hemorrhage.

The De la Cruz and Lopez families are neighbors. De la Cruz’s widow said the suspects may have a “personal grudge” against her husband. She claimed the two suspects “have a history of killing people. A relative killed someone before, but the case was dismissed because they settled it. They’re really capable of doing it.”

She said they will not settle out of court. “They don’t deserve mercy for what they did to our breadwinner,” she said.

Reynold was a member of the Pasig City police’s Motorized Anti-Street Crime Operatives, a group dedicated to fighting motorcycle-riding criminals.