Osmeña to promote SWAT man

Bucking public concern about the way police handle certain situations, Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday promised to reward and promote the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) member who peppered a robbery suspect with a hail of bullets.

An autopsy report on slain robbery suspect Raffy Centino showed he was hit 15 times by bullets, mostly in the front and side of his body.

Police officer Adonis Dumpit, a member of the Cebu City police SWAT team who tried to serve a warrant against Centino, said the robbery suspect, in the process of trying to flee, had fired shots at him, prompting him to take Centino down.

But the number of bullets that killed Centino raised questions as to whether Dumpit fired his weapon with the intent to kill or whether he should have fired just to disable the suspect.

Dumpit himself provided part of the answer, saying yesterday that he will continue to go after robbery suspects and snatchers, even to the point of shooting them. He also said he is willing to be investigated over the incident.

Dumpit had said he was forced to shoot Centino dead when, after the chase on Nov. 9, he ended getting trapped in the house of his common-law wife, Rosejen Regis, and used her as a shield as he tried to resist arrest.

The SWAT member insisted he observed police rules of engagement by first shooting Centino on the leg.

But Regis told a different story, claiming Dumpit continued firing away even after Centino screamed he was giving up.

In the autopsy report prepared by Jesus Cerna, the medico-legal officer of the Cebu City police crime laboratory, a total of 15 gunshot wounds had been counted.

Most of the wounds were on Centino’s right thigh, abdomen, right arm and chest. Only four were on the lower back.

But despite questions about the manner in which Dumpit took down Centino, he still managed to find a believer in Osmena, who said he will confer an award on the police officer and promote him. — Freeman News Service