25 Filipino police charged with murder in shootout

Police officers in the Philippines are rarely convicted despite frequent complaints that they are quick on the trigger in a country where crime is rampant and guns easily available.

The Justice Department said it found probable cause to indict the 25 officers in the death of Alfonso de Vera, 53, and his daughter after witnesses testified that police indiscriminately fired at the van without determining who was inside.

The officers were chasing suspected bank robbers in a Manila residential area in December 2008 when they strafed de Vera's van with 80 bullets, the indictment said.

When de Vera left the vehicle with his fatally wounded daughter, the policemen followed and shot him in the head, the Justice Department said. The policemen have said the civilians were caught in the crossfire with the suspected robbers.

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