BY law, according to a senior Department of Public Safety official who declined to be identified, Corrections officers and law enforcement officers are allowed to carry their service firearms 24/7, even when off-duty.
“However, a policy or directive memo can instruct the Department of Corrections officers to leave their service firearms in their locker when off-duty,” the DPS official added.
The legal counsel of the Department of Corrections, Assistant Attorney General Leslie Healer, declined to comment, but added that Corrections Commissioner Wally Villagomez is working on a statement that may be provided at a later date.
Asked about the Department of Corrections’ firearms policy, DPS public information officer Dre Pangelinan said the question should be directed to Corrections.
“DPS steps in if a firearm is used in a crime,” he said.
Asked about counseling services for DPS personnel, he said they are provided if needed.
On Saturday afternoon, March 27, 2021, DPS received a call regarding an “unresponsive male individual” with a “self-inflicted gunshot wound” at Café Mango Six on As Terlaje Hill.
Police and medics were immediately rushed to the scene.
DPS did not identify the victim, but Variety learned from other sources that the fatality was a 26-year-old Corrections officer who fired his service pistol.
At the scene, responding officers met with the café’s staff members who stated that prior to the incident, they saw the Corrections officer speaking with a friend.
