THE rush to judgment on the young constable involved in a fatal shooting in Mongkok on Friday is unusual - and disturbing. Within hours of the shooting, Acting Chief Superintendent Fung Kam-wong criticised Constable Tam Chun-yip for failing to call for back-up before investigating a suspected burglary.
The speed with which Mr Fung passed judgment is in contrast to police reaction to the Aberdeen shoot-out of October 14, when two people - one of them a hostage - died in a hail of bullets. Senior police said then that comment must await a coroner's findings.
This principle was not applied to Constable Tam, despite doubts about whether he even fired the single fatal shot. Mr Fung said Constable Tam should have called for back-up after a member of the public reported suspicious activity in a building on Nathan Road.
In retrospect, perhaps he should have. But if police on the beat called for back-up every time they spotted something odd, an awful lot of man (and woman) power would be wasted. While it is too early to say whether Constable Tam was right or wrong it is not surprising that he wanted to see what was going on before calling for help.
Once the constable found himself being wrestled down three floors of a building by a man who then tried to handcuff him, he would seem to have had good reason to fear his life was in danger. Following the shooting, he might then reasonably have hoped for help and support from superior officers, not vilification.
The public image of the police is fragile. Many people view the force as trigger-happy following shoot-outs in public places in recent years; others contrast the professionalism normally displayed today with the corruption and brutality of 'Asia's finest' a generation ago.
