MANILA— The Philippine National Police (PNP) said Tuesday it approved the dismissal of a Valenzuela City cop over the death of a teenager with autism in an operation last May.

"I have signed the order for the dismissal from the service of [Police Senior Master Sergeant Christopher] Salcedo for grave misconduct and less grave irregularity in the performance of duty," PNP Chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said in a statement.

Salcedo was administratively charged for the death of 18-year-old Edwin Arnigo, who was shot in an anti-illegal gambling (tupada) operation in Valenzuela last May 23.

Police claimed Arnigo tried to snatch a gun, which led to the "accidental shooting," but a witness said Salcedo grabbed Arnigo before shooting him.

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In dismissing Salcedo, Eleazar considered "several factors that aggravated his offense including violation of the Police Operational Procedure as well as the fact that the teenager was a person with special needs."

Eleazar said Arnigo should not have been arrested by Valenzuela cops because he was not even involved in the "tupada."

"Being a person with autism spectrum disorder, he could not have knowingly taken part in the illegal gambling activity," he said.

The PNP, meanwhile, dropped administrative cases against 4 other Valenzuela cops who took part in the operation due to lack of "substantive evidence," Eleazar said.

The National Bureau of Investigation is still conducting a probe for the filing of a criminal complaint against Salcedo.

Prior to the dismissal, the PNP Internal Affairs Service placed Salcedo under a 40-day suspension.

• 40-day suspension ipinataw sa pulis na bumaril sa binatilyong may autism

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