An administrative case was filed by a Criminology student against three personnel of Police Station 4 of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LLCPO).

The 20-year-old Criminology student referred to as “Eric,” who accused three policemen of maltreatment, filed formal charges for conduct unbecoming of a police officer and grave misconduct against a duty investigator and two intel [intelligence] personnel of the City Internal Affairs Service.

However, the Lapu-Lapu City Police have not determined yet whether “Eric” pursued a criminal case against the three cops.

The three police personnel are assigned at the Holding and Accounting Unit of the LLCPO while investigation is ongoing.

As of this writing, the three policemen have not issued a statement as they are yet to receive a copy of the complaint.

To recall, the incident happened on October 4, 2024.

According to a post by a netizen, who claimed to be Eric's uncle, burglars sneaked in a house where Eric worked as a caretaker.

However, in an investigation conducted by the police, it appeared as though Eric was accused of the burglary.

When the Criminology student was interrogated by the police, he denied vehemently all accusations.The denial irked reportedly the cops who started beating him up.

The Criminology student was released later.

It was the netizen who called on the attention of Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan to act on the incident. 

Weeks after, the stolen bicycle and chainsaw were recovered by personnel of Police Station 4 from a resident of Barangay Marigondon.

The 20-year-old suspect did not implicate the Criminology student in the theft, according to Police Lt. Col. Christian Torres, spokesperson of the LLCPO.

“Initially wala man siya mo-declare nga kaila sila. Dili daw sila kaila. As alleged, walay kalambigitan ang student, siya ra kuno,” Lt. Col. Torres said.

Eric narrated that he was beaten up and slapped to own up to the theft.

He cried foul when he was implicated in the thievery and coerced reportedly to own up.

In an interview, he wept and vowed to drop his college course, saying he would not want to pursue a career where colleagues could be that "walay ayo” (no good or vicious) and "abusado" (abusive). 

Earlier, Police Colonel Dyan Agustin, officer in charge of LLCPO, said that she directed the Criminal Investigation and Detective Management Unit to identify the policemen involved in the incident.

Police Col. Agustin said that she read the post on social media and that she found basis to have the incident investigated.

Agustin vowed of an impartial investigation.