Review needed after Hong Kong police gun incidents
Investigations into alleged weapon grabs by those being arrested should aim to improve safety standards for both officers and the public
Police can never predict with certainty what they will encounter when they answer a call. The intoxicated man at a Sha Tin flat five officers were sent to deal with last week would outwardly have seemed a straightforward enough case, but two ended up in hospital with gunshot wounds.
There was reportedly a scuffle, one officer’s holstered gun was allegedly grabbed by the drunk and the trigger pulled. A review of equipment, training and rules has to be held to ensure that safety standards for the public and force are maintained.
An investigation should determine how the man could have got his hands on the gun and fired it. Police holsters are designed to ensure that a special technique is necessary to remove the weapon.
Every officer undergoes three handgun training sessions each year to perfect the method and be taught how to ward off weapon snatchers.
Whatever went amiss this time has to be assessed so that better protections can be considered and, if feasible, implemented.
