Clockwise from the top left: Officer Candelario, Commander Roman, Officer Hernandez, and First Lieutenant Soto.
Posted on 12/28/2015 10:11:26 AM PST by Ebenezer
(English translation)
PONCE - Officer Guarionex Candelario Rivera, the author of the tragic massacre that took the lives of a commander, a first lieutenant, and an officer at the Command Center of the Ponce Area Police Headquarters, had displayed problematic behavior that resulted in his having his gun taken for long periods.
However, he regained his gun recently, although he suffered from "nerves" and occasionally went out to the streets as a reinforcement.
Fifty-year-old Candelario, a resident of the Tallaboa Alta neighborhood in Penuelas and a 19-year veteran of the force, had been summoned to his workplace this morning.
Different versions point out that, close to 10:00 a.m., when Candelario arrived at the Command Center, he immediately took as a hostage First Lieutenant Luz M. Soto Segarra, who had been his supervisor and who recently began to supervise him again at the Command Center.
The 49-year-old lieutenant, who had served 23 years in the force, was looking forward to being promoted to captain in February after passing the tests and who was married to Lieutenant Javier Requena, was able to ask for help but the negotiators did not show up.
Forty-nine-year-old Commander Frank Roman Rodriguez, who served for 28 years, arrived at the Command Center, but it is unknown if that is when the shootout started, at which time he, the lieutenant, and 42-year-old Officer Rosario Hernandez de Hoyos, who served 15 years with the force, were killed. [Officer Hernandez] had been assigned to the Command Center following heart surgery.
During the shootout, Officer Candelario took two to three bullets to the side and back, possibly from Commander Roman.
Panic ensued among officers and civilians following the incident, with many versions circulating. One of them was that, at the request of other officers at the Command Center, Commander Roman had arranged for Candelario to be removed from the place and transferred to a precinct.
Others pointed out that Candelario had entered with two guns he owned, and shortly after the tragedy, the lieutenant's husband had arrived, and other versions stated that he was also wounded, but these were later denied.
Associate Superintendent Juan Rodriguez Davila, investigative branch director Colonel Antonio Lopez Figueroa, and other high officials immediately left for Ponce.
Superintendent Jose Luis Caldero Lopez is vacationing in Europe.
In addition, head of prosecutors Jose B. Capo left his offices in [Department of Justice headquarters in] Miramar for Ponce to directly supervise the investigation.
Another situation caused a commotion when the [Area] Headquarters was vacated after it was alleged that Candelario had placed an explosive device. A first search resulted in Explosives [Unit] officers removing a bag from the trunk of the Toyota Camry Candelario owned, which ended up being a small air compressor.
When Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla arrived at this city to gain knowledge of the tragedy firsthand, he went to the Narcotics [Unit] station close to Headquarters, where the high officials were set up.
The investigation of this terrible incident has hardly begun, and the police hierarchy are tight-lipped regarding the motives behind Officer Candelario's regaining his weapon and if the proper protocols had been followed in this case.
Puerto Rico ping
Simply horrible.
Wow! Hard to follow the story line here. Is this badly translated or is the author just all over the place? This was like talking to my aunt Gloria.
...had displayed problematic behavior that resulted in his having his gun taken for long periods.
I'm sure the Dept had assumed he'd only be a danger to "civilians" and not his fellow officers when they gave him his gun back.
Remember, only the police are qualified to possess firearms.
Thanks, I thought it was just me, but that is a hard story to comprehend. Whatever happened to simple, blunt and straightforward?
It's early, and no one has a clear narrative. You'll just have to wait.
19 years on the force.
The union protected him so he couldn’t be fired before the 20 year mark?
I get the feeling it was political correctness that allowed this lunatic to get his weapons back. He should have been fired years ago. And not given so many “second chances”.
He was a cop. There isn’t any end of second, third, fourth, etc. chances given to cops
That was pretty much how the article was written in the original Spanish. I did try to fine-tune when translating it.
A police officer in Puerto Rico shot and killed three colleagues at a command center this morning. The motives are not yet known.
More evidence that gun confiscation must start, and end, with the government guns. Not just the cops, but start at the top, with the elite secret service protective details and work down.
Reporters do muddle news articles with “someone said this, someone said that” without getting the facts straight. In any event, people in the island are shocked over the incident, occurring during the Christmas season no less.
Ponce, PR, is a place where everyone and everything seems to be on the brink of doing something dramatic. The wealthy have abandoned their city estates and moved to mini fortresses in the surrounding hills. Personally, I did not find it to be a relaxing place.
Clockwise from the top left: Officer Candelario, Commander Roman, Officer Hernandez, and First Lieutenant Soto.
Well, it sounds like he had a checkered history and they called him in for another disciplinary round. Union probably kept him from getting fired the first time he had issues.
There are no real police unions in Puerto Rico. They don’t have collective bargaining rights. There are several police protective orders or organizations, but none has a contract with the government.
Thanks for the information/correction.
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