SEEKING JUSTICE. Marikina Mayor Marcelino "Marcy" Teodoro on Monday (Oct. 14, 2019) visits Lauro Legarde who was shot in the stomach by a Marikina cop last week in an alleged gun scuffle. The mayor also vowed an impartial probe on the killing of Lagarde's friend, Kim Lester Ramos, who died after being shot in the head during the incident. (Photo courtesy of Marikina PIO)
MANILA -- Marikina City Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro on Monday has ordered a thorough probe into the death of a 23-year-old construction worker who was shot and killed by a police officer in the city last week.
The victim was identified as Kim Lester Ramos, 23, while his friend Lauro Lagarde, an administrative staff, was shot in the belly during an alleged scuffle with Cpl. Herjonner Soller, a member of the Marikina Police Intelligence Unit last October 5.
Teodoro visited Lagarde at the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center (ARMMC) to get his side about the incident involving the cop and checked his condition.
“We will not stop until we find out the truth. We will make sure that we will seek justice for his death. If it is proven that there has been an irregularity in the incident, I will make sure that somebody will be held liable and there will be no cover-up,” the mayor told Lagarde.
Teodoro said he has already coordinated with the Commission of Human Rights (CHR) to seek an impartial probe regarding the incident.
During the mayor’s visit, he told Lagarde that he will shoulder all his medical expenses.
Lagarde also belied Soller's side of the story, saying there was no scuffle as the policeman abruptly pointed a gun at them.
“Kakatapos lang po naming mag-basketball tapos nakaupo po kami sa gutter kasi hinihintay po naming isa naming kasamahan. Nagbibiruan kami ni Kim doon dumaan na po ang pulis sakay ng motor (We just finished playing basketball and sat down a gutter because we were waiting for another friend. Kim and I are joking at each other when the cop aboard a motorcycle passed by),” he recalled.
“Bigla na lang po kami sinabihan ng pulis na ‘Kayong mga adik tigilan niyo pag-dro-droga. Tapos umalis na po siya (He suddenly told us 'You addicts, stop doing drugs', Then he left),” he added.
Coincidentally, while on their way to a nearby eatery, aboard a motorcycle, they saw the cop on an intersection of Mt. Vernon and Gil Fernando St., so Lagarde confronted the cop.
“Sabi ko po sa kanya, ‘Bakit niyo po kami sinasabihan ng adik?' Tapos po nun ay tinutukan na kami ng baril. Tinabig ko po kaya tinamaan ako sa tiyan. Tumakbo na po noon ang kasama ko, tapos binaril niya sa ulo, mga limang hakbang lang po ang layo niya kay Kim (I asked him, 'Why are you calling us addicts?' He then pointed his gun to us. I bumped it so I was hit in the abdomen. My companion ran and then he fired at him. He shot him in the head. He was about five steps away from Kim),” he told the mayor.
With the quick response of Marikina Rescue 161, Lagarde was rushed to the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center where his wound was treated.
On Monday, a team of Eastern Police District-Internal Affairs Service (EPD-AIS) went to the hospital to investigate the circumstances of the shooting incident.
Soller is currently under restrictive custody pending probe. (PNA)
