A PATROL car owned by the City of Naga's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team went missing for almost two hours after it was reportedly carnapped by a slightly drunk man in Barangay Lutac, in the same city, Sunday afternoon.
Police officers led by City of Naga acting police Chief Inspector Roderick Gonzales eventually recovered the stolen vehicle in a quarry site in Barangay West Poblacion, in the same city, at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 1.
They are still conducting hot pursuit operation to arrest suspect Recarti Cantano, 25, which went missing after leaving the vehicle behind.
Gonzales told VoxPop Cebu that the incident started at around 4:25 p.m. when police officers and local social workers led by PO2 Glen Conahap and PO1 Catherine Rose Tugaon went to Barangay Lutac to respond to an alleged domestic incident involving Cantano and his 15-year-old live-in partner.
But as police tried to bring the two to the police station, they decided to place Cantano in the front seat while his live-in partner and her mother were seated in the back to pacify them.
The police officers didn't realize that Cantano was up to something.
Cantano then suddenly hit the car's back mirror several times, prompting Conahap, who was also the driver, to try pacifying him.
But Cantano was able to take over the driver's seat and drove the car away from the responding team.
While police were searching the vehicle, Manuel Navales, a habal-habal driver, informed the police station that he saw the carnapped Swat car left in a quarry in Barangay West Poblacion.
Senior Superintendent Manuel Abrugena, Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) director, who was at the station to assist the local police in the search operations, accompanied Gonzales and his personnel in recovering the vehicle.
Gonzales clarified that Conahap and Tugaon were merely inviting Cantano to the station to settle his dispute with his live-in partner.
Both police officers decided to put Cantano in the front seat to prevent him from hurting his live-in partner.
But both officers didn't expect Cantano to take over the driver's wheel.
Gonzales said despite the incident, both officers will not face any liability.
