A man later identified by the Pasay police as PO1 Ivan Ichiro Ramos (left) points his pistol at a customer inside a restaurant in the wee hours of Dec. 10. 鈥擵IDEO GRAB COURTESY OF PASAY POLICE
The man who was caught on video as he threatened, kicked and fired a pistol at a customer in a Pasay City restaurant in the wee hours of Sunday turned out to be a low-ranking member of the Para帽aque City police.
And it was apparently not the first time Police Officer 1 Ivan Ichiro Ramos went trigger-happy.
Supt. Gene Licud, assistant chief for operations of the Pasay police, said Ramos was the man in black shirt who was caught on a closed-circuit television camera taunting diners and firing a pistol inside Harlem Restaurant on Arnaiz Avenue around 2 a.m. on Dec. 10.
According to Licud, Junrey Gutierrez and Gilbert Ruiz were having drinks with two companions at the restaurant when Ramos approached them after they exchanged dagger looks 鈥斺�渘agkatinginan ng masama.鈥�
The visibly drunk Ramos tapped Ruiz on the chest, as if challenging him to a fight.
When Ruiz and Gutierrez asked him to stop, Ramos picked up a bottle of beer and splashed the contents on the two men. Gutierrez was about to retaliate when Ramos drew a .45-caliber pistol from his waistband and fired in the former鈥檚 direction.
Gutierrez was not hit. Ramos then turned to Ruiz, kicking him in the chest, then pushed another customer as he walked toward the door. Ramos was last seen leaving the restaurant on a black motorcycle.
Licud said Gutierrez and Ruiz, both security officers at a hotel-casino, had positively identified Ramos as the person who assaulted them.
Complaints for frustrated homicide and illegal discharge of firearm are set to be filed against Ramos, a member of the Para帽aque Police Community Precinct 4.
鈥淓ven if he would claim that he did not intend to hit the victims, the moment you discharge the firearm, you have an intent to kill,鈥� Licud said.
The .45-caliber pistol Ramos used in the Dec. 2 incident may be his personal firearm, since policemen are issued 9-mm pistols as service firearm, he added.
According to Licud, a background check on Ramos revealed that he has a pending case for illegal discharge of firearm in Cavite province. The Pasay police were also verifying reports that the officer was once jailed for indiscriminate firing in Manila.
Senior Supt. Victor Rosete, Para帽aque police chief, confirmed that Ramos is a policeman assigned to the city.
Ramos last reported for work at PCP4 on Tuesday and was absent on Wednesday, Rosete said.