Ajuy police rule SAF member’s death accidental

By Jennifer P. Rendon

There appears to be no foul play in the June 16 death of a Philippine National Police Special Action Force member in Ajuy, Iloilo.

Capt. Aileen Lacrite, Ajuy police chief, said Patrolman RJ likely died due to an accidental discharge.

Lacrite said the autopsy showed that RJ sustained a gunshot wound to the upper right portion of his body.

She said the gun may have accidentally gone off while the victim was in bed.

Both RJ and his wife tested negative for gunpowder burns.

Lacrite explained that this may have happened because the gun discharged while it was under a blanket.

“Baka natapik n’ya nang tumagilid siya,” she added.

Lacrite also said there was no indication that RJ and his wife had fought immediately before the incident.

The apparent accidental discharge happened at the victim’s home at the NHA housing site in Sitio Palatac, Barangay Pili, Ajuy, around 3:12 a.m. June 16.

RJ was assigned to the 6th Special Action Battalion’s 63rd Special Action Company in Tobias Fornier, Antique.

Members of the Ajuy Response Team rushed RJ to Sara District Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Before the incident, RJ had fetched his wife, who was applying for a PNP nonuniformed personnel post in Antique.

They also passed through a police checkpoint before arriving home.

Lacrite said personnel manning the checkpoint attested that nothing indicated the couple had been fighting.

RJ was not on duty when the incident happened, as he was on anniversary pass.

The PNP Special Action Force is the police force’s elite unit, handling high-risk law enforcement and internal security operations.