Hong Kong police officers’ ‘relatives’ hold rally and call for inquiry into snowballing protest crisis
- Police and staff associations dissociate themselves from gathering organised by new online group
- Organiser says about 400 people show up for rally, held in Central in heavy rain
Demonstrators in masks held a rally in central Hong Kong on Sunday, saying they were family members of police officers who felt unfairly trapped between the government and protesters, and also calling for a commission of inquiry into a snowballing crisis.
Both the police force and its staff associations dissociated themselves from the gathering organised by the Police Relatives Connection, an online group formed last month by people claiming to have relatives in the force.
The organiser said 400 turned up, while the official police estimate was 270 at its peak.
“No fight between police and civilians, return police to the people,” they chanted in the rain at Edinburgh Place in Central in the afternoon, also taking a stand that would go against police opposition to the inquiry that anti-government protesters have been demanding.
The personnel wing of the force had earlier written to its four police associations to say the rally did not represent the force’s position and urged officers to tell family members to be cautious about taking part.