Police and SWAT members
assault a tourist bus to rescue hostages following a standoff with former
Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza at
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.
A handwritten note, signed by Mr
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
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 :
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.