LettersHong Kong police clearly feeling the pressure of months of mass protests: an inquiry would serve them best

Last month, former Indian Association president Mohan Chugani had a terrible encounter with the police. At the edge of the conflict zone, a crowd-control vehicle shot blue dye at the entrance of Kowloon Mosque, hitting him and others in the vicinity. Mr Chugani was covered in blue dye and needed hospital care.

Afterwards, Mr Chugani said he previously had confidence in the government and the police but they had let him down. This is one of the examples of how police officers have turned friends into foes.

The police claim to have strict guidelines on the deployment of anti-riot vehicles. But there were no rioters near the mosque on October 20. When the water cannon rolled by, there were only a few onlookers and reporters at the mosque’s main gate. Caught off guard by the launching of the police water cannon on them, they ran for cover in disbelief.

Two months earlier, on August 31, police stormed Prince Edward MTR Station and arrested dozens. Video footage showed terrorised passengers in tears begging for mercy as a group of officers wielded batons and shot pepper spray randomly at anyone trapped in the rampage.

The two incidents are part of a pattern in which iron-fisted measures increasingly alienate the majority of the population. More than PR disasters, they are clear signals that world-class training and equipment can no longer withstand the full weight of months-long mass protests.