Cop kills man in Gualo Rai fight

A police officer who responded to a fight between two groups of neighbors shot dead a man who allegedly tried to attack the officer with a piece of wood at a residence in Gualo Rai Sunday night.

The man was shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the Commonwealth Health Center, according to Department of Public Safety Commissioner Santiago F. Tudela and DPS Criminal Investigation Bureau chief Capt. Lawrence Camacho.

The DPS officials said the identity of the dead person will not be released to the media until the next of kin has been notified about his death.

Tudela said the officer involved—Police Officer I Andrew Santos of the patrol section—was relieved from his field duty and is now assigned at the front desk.

Tudela said Santos will be eventually put on administrative leave while investigation is pending.

Tudela said he directed Santos to undergo psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he is still capable of going back to the field again.

Nobody was arrested yet as investigation is still ongoing, the commissioner said.

Camacho said preliminary investigation showed that there was a drinking session between two groups of neighbors “that went wrong.”

The commissioner said preliminary investigation showed that DPS received a call at 7:10pm about individuals who were at somebody’s house armed with knives.

Tudela said that when Santos and two other police officers arrived at the house, they observed a commotion.

One man who was later shot was hitting another man on the ground with a 2”X4” piece of lumber.

Police said the two attackers, both Chuukese, beat up their neighbor, a Carolinian, outside the latter’s house.

Santos identified himself as a police officer but instead of stopping, the man allegedly threatened to harm the officer, leaving the officer with no choice but to fire twice his service .9 mm pistol.

The man who was beaten up was also treated at CHC for injuries to the head.

Police officers were immediately posted outside the house of the person who was beaten up. The DPS elite Tactical Response Enforcement Team was also activated to prevent escalation of the fight.

Tudela said police use of a firearm is the last resort to either save his life or to save somebody else’s.

“So what the officer did over here is saving somebody else and saving himself,” said Tudela, as he added that investigation is ongoing to determine whether Santos’ action was justified.

Tudela said DPS will hold another press conference with the Attorney General’s Office when the investigation is completed.

The last time a police officer was involved in a fatal gunshooting incident was in 1994 when then Officer Ismael Aguon shot dead a person who tried to attack him with a knife on Saipan.