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HK Bus Hostage Tragedy 2010 (aftermath. etc.); updates, discussions
Topic Started: Aug 23 2010, 12:08 PM (6,536 Views)
mazingu
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The PNP can learn from this recent hostage-taking incident at the Discovery Channel studios. The hostage taker was killed but the media wasnt able to get near the area and was only briefed of the events AFTER the rescue of the hostages:

Video of police captain briefing the media after the resolution of the hostage-taking:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/01/ma...JGKMV&wom=false

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Fmr TOPP Awardee 82'PNP
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valiant
Aug 23 2010, 06:48 PM
Just like you sir TOPP, Capt. Mendoza is a TOPP awardee.

It's a pity really for Capt. Mendoza' s life to end that way which is not expected of a man who also have hurdled thorny paths and hardships thereby exposing one's life to reach a colorful accomplishment in his services to the PNP, leading to his accolade as one of the TOPP out out of the entire population of the PNP, which is a rare shining glory of his life to be inscribed in halls of fame.

Politics within the outfit always play a role that may result to an outcome similar to that of Capt. Mendoza's . The disgraced Captain was quite impatient to resort to all open avenues and options of appeal to prove his innocence, instead he dragged himself to violence that ultimately ended in disgrace and historically messy that reverberated in the four corners of the world.

Given all the circumstances of the incident, the benefit of the doubt still remain that injustice still can be felt on the Captain's demise, but it can no longer be redeemed as it ended violently.

"Impatience, violence and resistance cannot kill the venom if injustice instead it glorifies it."

MAY HE REST IN PEACE.
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saver111
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Hostage-taker's brother explains why he made a scene
By David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 09/06/2010 7:14 PM | Updated as of 09/07/2010 3:34 AM
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MANILA, Philippines - The younger brother of slain hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza on Monday said he asked for help from the media during a critical moment in the August 23 hostage crisis because he was afraid of what other policemen would do to him if he was arrested.

SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza said he ran towards waiting media workers near the command post in Rizal Park after he heard then Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim tell other policemen to take him away. This was after one of the police negotiators told the mayor that Mendoza should be charged as an accessory to the hostage crisis.

"Ang sabi niya (Lim), pag nagtuloy ang hostage-taking, isama niyo na yan (What Lim said was: 'If the hostage-taking continues, he should be included)," Mendoza told a multi-sectoral panel investigating the hostage incident.

Mendoza said he became afraid after hearing those words because of the veiled threat.

"Matagal na rin po ako sa serbisyo at ang ganung mga salita ay nakakatakot sa amin. Hindi po maayos. Kung maayos po, dapat idaan nila ako sa labas at sabihing may kaso ako. Wala namang sinabi na may kaso ako e. Kung malinis ang intensyon nilang walang masamang gagawin sa akin, hindi nila ako idadaan sa gilid," he said.

(I have been in the service for a long time and those kinds of words are very scary for us policemen. It's not alright. If it was alright, they should have brought me right outside and told me that I was being charged. Nobody told me I was being charged. If their intentions were pure and they had no plans to harm me, they wouldn't have brought me out the backdoor.)

Mendoza was one of several resource persons summoned to testify on Monday before a 5-man panel investigating the tragic hostage-taking incident in Manila last August 23.

Mendoza's arrest, which was aired live by broadcast media on the night of the hostage-taking, has been cited as one of the factors that pushed the hostage-taker to start firing at his hostages inside the hijacked tourist bus.

A total of 9 people, including the hostage-taker, were killed in the incident.

Brother asked to join negotiators

In his testimony, Mendoza said he was not in police uniform when he went to the scene of the hostage-taking before noon of August 23 because his shift in the Manila Traffic Bureau had yet to start.

He said he tried to approach the hijacked tourist bus during the early part of the crisis so he could persuade his brother to stop the hostage-taking. One of the negotiators, Chief Inspector Romeo Salvador, stopped Mendoza and took his service firearm - a 9mm Beretta.

Mendoza said he and the hostage-taker's daughter, Mary Grace, offered to become negotiators but was rejected by the hostage-taker.

The traffic cop said he was able to talk to the hostage-taker before the 3 p.m. deadline and dissuaded him from harming the hostages. At that time, Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno was already working on the hostage-taker's demand that his motion for reconsideration be immediately reviewed by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Mendoza said Mayor Lim arrived at the command post in Rizal Park past 5 p.m. and ordered him to join negotiators Salvador and Orlando Yebra in bringing the Ombudsman's letter to the hostage-taker.

Argument over the gun

Mendoza said he was carrying the umbrella when he escorted Salvador and Yebra in bringing the Ombudsman's letter to his brother in the hijacked bus.

He said his brother was angry with the contents of the letter and reiterated that he wanted to be reinstated in the service and would voluntarily surrender if he got what he wanted.

It was during this point that Mendoza told his brother that Salvador had yet to return his service firearm. "Ang sabi ko, 'Tol hindi pa po binabalik yung baril ko' (I said: 'Tol, they haven't returned my gun),"he said.

He said his brother got angry and demanded that the police return his younger brother's firearm. He also said his brother fired a warning shot while they were leaving the area.

Asked why he would say such a statement during the negotiation, Mendoza said: "He's my older brother. Pag walang-wala ako, nagsusumbong ako sa kanya."

He said Yebra also got angry with him and mentioned that he was not helping in the negotiation. He said the chief negotiator even mentioned that Mendoza could be charged as an accessory in the crime.

He also denied Yebra's accusation that he told his brother not to give in until police had returned his firearm.

Arrest and aftermath

Upon their return to the command post, Yebra immediately recommended that Mendoza be charged as an accessory.

For his part, Mendoza said he asked Manila Police District chief Rodolfo Magtibay another chance to talk to his brother because he was worried about his brother's mental state when he fired a warning shot.

Lim, Magtibay, Yebra and other police officials met briefly before deciding on taking Mendoza away from the command post.

Mendoza said a certain Colonel Po was wary of arresting him since there were a lot of reporters outside the command post. He said it was Lim who ordered that he be taken out the backdoor of the police station, away from the prying eyes of the media.

"When I stepped out of the police station, two cops in uniform placed their hands on my shoulders and started escorting me out. It was dark and raining. I got scared. They were going to put me in the van. I thought something bad would happen to me so I ran to the media and asked for help," he said.

Mendoza's arrest was aired live by major television networks and was seen by the hostage-taker on a TV inside the hijacked bus. The incident allegedly triggered the hostage-taker to start shooting inside the bus.

'Wasted medals, commendations'

During Monday's hearing, a friend of the hostage-taker described the slain cop as a "principled man" who distinguished himself during the early part of his career while the country was under martial law.

Retired policeman Robert Agojo said Mendoza was a decorated police officer who gained the respect of his peers during his early years in the police force. These commendations, he said, assured him that Mendoza would be able to beat the criminal and administrative charges filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman.

In his testimony, Agojo said he was able to contact Mendoza 4 times during the August 23 hostage crisis after Magtibay gave him Mendoza's cell phone number.

For his part, Gregorio Mendoza said his brother was not a violent man. He said his brother took it hard when he was dismissed from the service after several decades in the police force.

"May hinanakit kasi siya. Walang hustisya sa kanya at gusto lang niya magbago yun at maparating sa kinauukulan ang tamang proseso at legal na pamamaraan ng pagtanggal sa kanya," he said.

Gregorio said he regretted that police disallowed Mendoza's family, including his daughter and wife, from speaking to Mendoza during the hostage crisis. "If he had seen all of us asking him, maybe there would be no bloodshed," he said.

He, however, added that he would not have objected if the negotiators had tried to grab Mendoza and even kill him to end the hostage crisis.

Agojo said he regretted that Mendoza ended his career in disgrace after a distinguished career. "Sinayang niya ang medalya niya at commendation niya," he said.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/06/10...y-he-made-scene
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Justice for Daniel Lorenz Jacinto

HELP END PIRACY NOW!:
http://www.itfseafarers.org/petition.cfm
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arvcab
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11069616

A security analyst who has worked in counter-terrorism with the British Army and Scotland Yard, Charles Shoebridge, says the officers involved in Manila's bus siege showed great courage - but they were not properly trained or equipped for the task.

Here are 10 areas where, in his view, they could have done better.

1. Determination

Philippine police end Manila bus hijack
The first officers who tried to storm the bus were driven out by gunshots from the hostage taker, former policeman Rolando Mendoza. "They showed great courage to go on board. It's very crowded, just one aisle down the middle of the bus. But once you get on board it's not unexpected you are going to be fired at. Squads like this have to be made up of very special people, specially trained and selected for their characteristics of courage, determination and aggression. In this case they acted as 99% of the population would have, which was to turn round and get out. They didn't seem to have the necessary determination and aggression to follow the attack through."

2. Lack of equipment
The police spent a long time smashing the windows of the bus, whereas explosive charges (known as frame charges) would have knocked in windows and doors instantly. "They had no ladders to get through the windows. They smashed the windows but didn't know what to do next," Mr Shoebridge says. "They almost looked like a group of vandals." Their firearms were also inappropriate - some had pistols, some had assault rifles. Ideally they would have carried a short submachine gun, suitable for use in confined spaces.

3. Lost opportunity to disarm the gunman

Mendoza's gun was not always raised
There were numerous opportunities to restrain the gunman, Mr Shoebridge believes. "The negotiators were so close to him, and he had his weapon hanging down by his side. He could have been disabled without having to kill him."

4. Lost opportunity to shoot the gunman
The video of the drama also shows there were occasions when the gunman was standing alone, during the course of the day, and could have been shot by a sharpshooter. "You are dealing with an unpredictable and irrational individual. The rule should be that if in the course of negotiations an opportunity arises to end the situation decisively, it should be taken," Mr Shoebridge says. Either this possibility did not occur to the officers in charge, he adds, or they considered it and decided to carry on talking.

5. Satisfying the gunman's demands
"I wondered why the authorities just didn't give in to all of his demands," says Charles Shoebridge. "A promise extracted under force is not a promise that you are required to honour. Nobody wants to give in to the demands of terrorists, but in a situation like this, which did not involve a terrorist group, or release of prisoners, they could have just accepted his demands. He could be reinstated in the police - and then be immediately put in prison for life for hostage taking." The Philippines authorities did in fact give in to the gunman's demands, but too little, too late. One message promised to review his case, while he wanted it formally dismissed. A second message reinstating him as a police officer only arrived after the shooting had started.

6. Televised proceedings
The gunman was able to follow events on television, revealing to him everything that was going on around him. This was a "crucial defect in the police handling", Mr Shoebridge says. He adds that police should always consider putting a barrier or screen around the area, to shield the scene from the cameras and keep the hostage taker in the dark.

7. No element of surprise
It was clear to the gunman what the police were doing at all times, not only because the whole incident was televised, but also because they moved "laboriously slowly", Mr Shoebridge says. The police did not distract him, so were unable to exploit the "crucial element of surprise".

8. Safeguarding the public

This boy, a bystander, was hit by a stray bullet
At least one bystander was shot, possibly because the public was allowed too close. The bullet from an M16 rifle, as carried by the gunman, can travel for about a mile, so preventing any risk of injury would have been difficult, Mr Shoebridge says, but a lot more could have been done. "When you saw the camera view from above, it was clear there was little command and control of the public on the ground," he says.

9. Using the gunman's brother to negotiate
Relatives and close friends can be a double-edged sword, Mr Shoebridge says. While they may have leverage over the hostage taker, what they are saying cannot be easily controlled. In this case, the gunman's brother was included in the negotiations - however, at a certain stage he became agitated and police started to remove him from the scene. The gunman saw this on television, and became agitated himself. According to one report he fired a warning shot.

10. Insufficient training
In some parts of the Philippines, such as Mindanao, hostage taking is not an uncommon occurrence, so the country has some forces that are well trained in the necessary tactics. The detachment involved in Monday's incident clearly was not, says Mr Shoebridge. After smashing the windows, one of the officers eventually put some CS gas inside, though "to what effect was not clear" he says. A unit involved in this work, needs to be "trained again and again, repeatedly practising precisely this kind of scenario," he says.
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Half-baked policemen in a half-baked or not even baked SWAT training equals a full baked disaster.
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spearhead
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^^ hehehe :armyLol:

This one reposted though. :armycheers:
"Men of War must learn the art of numbers or he will not know how to array his troops." - Plato

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pachador


If this is true, it looks like Officer Mendoza was pushed to the limit, in which case, it is the Ombudsman who should be crucified as well for the hostage-taking mess:

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/203368/iirc-bl...tortion-attempt

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/203465/broken-...e-hostage-taker

if true, my condolences to the policeman's family as well. they are vitctims too.
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pachador


just to add more fuel to the fire:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadl...hief-blames-Lim
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So unfortunate for Capt.Mendoza. No wonder that he put his life to it. Ombudsman Emilio Gonzales 111 and the old man Mayor Lim should be crucified with the full brunt of the blame let alone be held legally accountable for the fiasco. I think they are already. :headbang:
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Axed cop in hostage tragedy gets key PNP post

MANILA, Philippines - Former National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Leocadio Santiago Jr. has been appointed to a juicy position in the Philippine National Police, two days after the officer completed his 11-day suspension for the bungled hostage-taking crisis at Rizal Park in Manila that resulted in the death of eight Hong Kong tourists and the hostage taker last Aug. 23.

Santiago assumed office yesterday as chief of the PNP-Directorate for Operations (DO), replacing Director Jose Cataluña who retires today at the age of 56, the mandatory retirement age of policemen.

Neither Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo nor PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo replied to reporters’ inquiry on the appointment of Santiago.

Santiago was relieved from NCRPO last Oct. 15 for the principle of command responsibility and has been on floating status until his appointment as chief of the DO yesterday.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said Santiago served his suspension from March 4 to 14 in connection with botched hostage-taking crisis last Aug. 23.

Cruz added that the suspension was based on the investigation conducted by PNP-Internal Affairs Service.

“From March 4 to March 14 Director Santiago was under suspension. This morning (Tuesday) he was appointed as acting chief of the Directorate for Operations,” Cruz explained.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?artic...ubCategoryId=63
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