WHERE is PO3 Renato Inot?
The policeman caught on video mauling and brandishing his gun at a truck driver was ordered to report to the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) or else will be considered absent without official leave (Awol).
Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, Police Regional Office chief, said Inot may face additional charges for not reporting for work and insubordination.
Truck driver Crispen Ricarte already filed administrative charges against Inot.
“It’s unbecoming for a policeman to maul a civilian. Walang puwang ang mga iyan sa serbisyo. (Policemen who act that way have no place in the service). Baka hindi lang kaso ang abutin niya. Pwede siyang ma-dismiss sa serbisyo (Perhaps PO3 Inot won’t just get charged. He can be dismissed from service),” Taliño told reporters yesterday.
Taliño said Inot was already stripped of his M16 rifle and a PNP-issued Glock pistol after the incident last Friday.
“Kitang-kita naman sa video ang ginawa niya. (What he did to the truck driver was clearly seen in the video),” the PRO-7 chief said.
Aside from Inot, also being investigated was the policeman’s cousin Adelcos Alonzo who was present during the incident.
A Facebook post that went viral showed Inot screaming by the roadside as he struck 25-year-old truck driver Crispen Ricarte several times with his fist pointing what appeared to be his gun.
The same video showed Inot’s cousin pointing a gun at onlookers while another man wearing a red shirt tried to pacify the two. The incident took place along A.C. Cortes Avenue in Barangay Looc, right in front of the University of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
Ricarte and his project supervisor at Triple L Comprehensive Aircon and Refrigeration Services on Saturday filed a complaint at the MCPO’S Investigation and Detection Management Branch (IDMB).
Taliño said Inot’s actuations placed the PNP in a bad light. But Taliño lauded the policemen who do their jobs extraordinarily well for the good of the citizenry. He said not all heroes are dead.
“We can be heroes in our own rights. You don’t have to die. You just have to do what is good and be dedicated in your work,” said Taliño as the country celebrated National Heroes’ Day yesterday.
He cited PO1 Gilbert Cabajar, who managed to stop and kill a robber along Colon Street in Cebu City last August 24 even if he was off duty.