Hong Kong police take no action as anti-extradition bill protesters blockade headquarters with chief Stephen Lo inside
- No violence as 4,000 riot police ready for possible unrest
- Officers with riot shields stand guard with police chief Stephen Lo known to be inside building
Thousands of protesters besieged Hong Kong police headquarters on Friday, jamming doors, erecting barricades and blocking all street-level passageways in and out of the building. Police took no action to disperse the demonstrators.
Dozens of officers armed with riot shields stood guard at entrances of the Wan Chai complex, with Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo Wai-chung and his deputy, Chris Tang Ping-keung, known to be in the command centre inside the building.
A law enforcement source said about 4,000 riot police were prepared for possible unrest or violence. “They are in police headquarters and in other police stations,” he said.
The source said late on Friday night that there were no plans to disperse the protesters unless they stormed police lines.
Earlier, several demonstrators threw eggs at the building, and others used umbrellas to cover surveillance cameras. Insults and verbal taunts were directed at police officers who filmed the protesters with video recorders.