Policewoman accuses fellow cops of ‘overkilling’ lover
Calape, Bohol—A policewoman has accused her colleagues of excessive use of force when they shot her lesbian lover in the head when she was already about to surrender.
An emotional PO1 Rosalie Cuario told the Inquirer that Maricel Ramos raised her hands in surrender after the police caught up with her in her house in Barangay Ulbujan, Calape on Wednesday after killing Rosalie’s mother and brother.
But she added policemen in Calape shot Maricel twice in the head.
“Why did they have to kill her? How many shots were fired? She was already helpless. They could have shot her in the legs or hands because she also surrendered. She did not fire her gun because it was not loaded. It was really an overkill,” said Rosalie.
“(Maricel) did not fight back. She did not attempt to flee. There is a law. They could have just imprisoned her,” she added.
Her statement was corroborated by Maricel’s younger brother, Richard, who was in their house when the policemen cornered his sister.
Richard, 30, said that contrary to the claim of the police that his sister fired at them, Ramos pointed the gun at herself.
He added the negotiation for his sister’s surrender took almost an hour but Maricel never fought back. “My sister did not fight back. She had a gun but there was no bullet,” said Richard.
“She said she would not fight the police. She held herself hostage,” he added.
Insp. Cresente Gurrea, chief of Calape police station, denied the claim of Rosalie and Richard that Maricel was about to surrender. He maintained that Maricel fired shots at the policemen who were trying to get near her, forcing them to fire back.
“There was no overkill. My men shot only twice. We tried to negotiate with the suspect to surrender but she did not heed and instead fired at the responding team and prompted the team to fire back,” he said.
Rosalie admitted that she left their rented house in Barangay Liboron, Calape three days ago following a spat due to Maricel’s suspicion that she had someone else. When she did not return home, Maricel went to Rosalie’s family in Barangay Ulbujan to look for her.
She met Rosalie’s elder brother, Vicente, 51, who told her that he had not seen Rosalie since Maricel and Rosalie decided to live together.
Maricel, however, did not believe her and shot Vicente in the hand. The bullet, however, went through and hit his chest.
She then went inside the house and shot Rosalie’s other brother, Joel, 48, and mother Rosita, 72.
Joel was hit in the face and Rosita, in the forehead. Both died on the spot. Vicente was brought to Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in Tagbilaran City.
Victor Cuario, 39, Rosalie’s brother, said Maricel and the family had been at odds since she and Rosalie started to live together.
Last year, Rosalie’s family filed a complaint against Maricel for threatening to kill them.
“I don’t know why she is angry at us when we have not intervened in their relationship. We don’t even have contact with our sister,” he said. But Rosalie said her family never liked Maricel even if it was Maricel who sent her to school and made sure that she finished her degree in education and passed the licensure examination for teachers.
Maricel also helped her when she applied for the police force.
“Maricel was caring and supportive. I will never find someone like her,” she said.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
