Philippines Police Storm Hijacked Tourist

RED FLAGS THAT LED TO KILLING OF INNOCENT VICTIMS

Police and SWAT members assault a tourist bus to rescue hostages following a standoff with former Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza at Manila's Rizal Park Monday, Aug. 23, 2010 in Manila, Philippines. Mendoza, a dismissed policeman armed with an automatic rifle, seized the bus in Manila Monday with 25 people aboard, mostly foreign tourists in a bid to demand reinstatement, police said. Mendoza was killed along with an undetermined number of hostages. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Police were shown shooting at the bus and breaking the windows after a long stand-off with the gunman, himself a former policeman.

The Red Cross said four hostages had survived and television images showed police removing some bodies from the bus.

The policeman, a senior inspector reportedly sacked over robbery and drugs claims, had demanded his job back in a handwritten note in the front window of the coach.

The man, identified as Rolando Mendoza, had threatened, via a handwritten note, that a "big deal" would happen after 3pm (0700 GMT), but the deadline passed without incident.

Mr Mendoza's brother, senior police officer Gregorio Mendoza, was heard by reporters urging the gunman to extend the deadline by another 30 minutes.

Mendoza, armed with an M-16 rifle and small arms, earlier released nine hostages: six Hong Kong nationals and two Filipinos, mainly women and children, police said. He asked for food for those remaining on the bus, which was delivered, and fuel to keep the air-conditioning going.

A handwritten note, signed by Mr Mendoza, saying "BIG DEAL WILL START AFTER 3PM TODAY" was stuck to the door of the bus. A sign stuck to a window said "3PM TODAY DEAD LOCK".

Also stuck to the bus door was a piece of paper with the handwritten message: "BIG MISTAKE TO CORRECT A BIG WRONG DECISION".

A larger piece of paper on the front windshield was headed "RELEASE FINAL DECISION" and then what appeared to be details of his case.

A Philippines police spokesman said the use of force would be a last resort.

Gregorio Mendoza earlier told a local television station that his brother was upset by his treatment and dismissal from the force. "His problem was he was unjustly removed from service. There was no due process, no hearing, no complaint," he said.

News Story and Video :

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/philippines/7960101/Philippines-hostages-police-storm-tourist-bus-hijacked-by-armed-man-in-Manila.html

POSSIBLE CASUE and SOLUTION IN SUCH CASES:

Immediately assign a psychologist who deals with such distress cases which causes people to react in violent manner to show their frustration. If this person is willing to go to this extent to show his frustration with the system, there possible was a problem with the system in which he was wronged.

To defuse that situation, it would have worked better if a negotiator, possibly this psychologist, could have discuss that his grievances will be looked into and if there was indeed wrong doing then there was a possibility of getting his job back. This hope would have allowed for him to surrender and spare ALL the lives of the tourists.

What I suspect: The Philippines police who handled this crisis must have had orders to eliminate the suspect which was a source of the problem not only to the victims of the bus but also tot eh police department against who he was making a statement of wrong doing. His death was the fastest way to close all the cases that would lead to investigation of wrong doing in the police department and its senior officers who were involved in any of his problems.