Hong Kong police confirm use of sponge grenades, rubber bullets and 55 cans of tear gas against extradition bill protesters during clash at Sheung Wan
- Head of police public relations says, ‘We think the force we used was lawful and proportionate’
- Softer, larger grenades are less lethal than rubber bullets, says military analyst
Police fired sponge grenades at extradition bill protesters last Sunday in what some say was the first use of the riot-control weapon in Hong Kong’s history.
In a press briefing on Thursday, police officials said the force used 55 cans of tear gas, five rounds of rubber bullets and 24 sponge grenades – designed to cause blunt pain and trauma – on July 21.
Anti-extradition protesters – some of whom vandalised Beijing’s liaison office in Sai Ying Pun, defacing the building and China’s national emblem – clashed with riot police in Sheung Wan on Sunday.
Chief Superintendent John Tse Chun-chung, head of the police public relations bureau, said officers had no choice but to deploy the weapons as protesters were throwing bricks.
“We think the force we used was lawful and proportionate,” Tse said.