Hong Kong police chief says tear gas, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds used in self-defence against extradition bill rioters, opposition lawmakers say force has ‘gone crazy’
- Officers feared attacks with sharpened metal poles so held their ground with anti-riot measures, says Stephen Lo
- Pro-democracy lawmakers accuse police of using ‘excessive force’, while Executive Council member says protesters were prepared for violence
Police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and rounds of beanbags at protesters outside Hong Kong’s legislature on Wednesday, leading to accusations officers had “gone crazy”.
The use of tear gas came nearly five years after 87 rounds of irritant chemical spray was sprayed at demonstrators at the dawn of the 79-day Occupy protest in 2014, drawing criticism and sparking international attention.
Describing a “riot” situation in Admiralty, the police chief, Stephen Lo Wai-chung, who will retire in November, said officers responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds, along with other weapons such as batons and pepper spray, when protesters stormed police lines.
Protesters could have used sharpened metal bars to stab officers if police did not deploy appropriate force to protect themselves and hold their defensive lines, Lo added.
The Legislative Council's pan-democratic bloc issued a condemnation of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the police for “clamping down on a largely peaceful protest with excessive force”.
Claudia Mo Man-ching, the bloc’s convenor, said: “We severely condemn the police for using excessive force and smearing the mostly peaceful protesters as rioters.”