Jakarta – The National Police have said that a police officer with the rank of second agent (Bharada) was acting in self-defense in a shootout last week that left a fellow officer dead at the residence of the internal affairs chief.
National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ahmad Ramadhan, referring to the two officers involved in the shootout only by their initials, told reporters that Bharada E was acting in self-defense when he was threatened by J.
J, who outranked E as a brigadier, had not only pointed a gun at Bharada E but had also been the first to discharge his weapon. "It was self-defense," Ramadhan told a press briefing on Monday as quoted by Tempo.
According to Ramadhan, Bharada E is a member of the police's Mobile Brigade unit who had been assigned as an aide de camp to internal affairs chief Insp. Gen. Ferdy Sambo. Brig. J had been assigned as a chauffeur to Ferdy's wife.
Ramadhan explained that the incident unfolded at around 5 p.m. on Friday, when J entered Ferdy's second-floor bedroom where his wife was resting. "J harassed her and pointed a pistol at her head," he continued.
Ferdy's wife screamed, which caused J to flee the room in a panic, and E responded on hearing the scream. As E descended the stairs of the residence, he asked J what was going on when J started shooting at him, so E returned fire.
An investigation into the incident discovered that J discharged his weapon seven times while E had fired his gun five times. "As a result of the shootout, J died," said Ramadhan.
Ramadhan said that the National Police had investigated the scene of the fatal shootout and questioned witnesses. (dre)