'Force Used By Police On June 12 Was Necessary'

The former commissioner of police, Andy Tsang, said on Saturday the level of force used by police during the June 12 protests was necessary and restrained.

Tsang said from what he saw on live TV broadcasts, there was a level of violence caused by protesters that was more serious than what had been seen during the 2014 civil disobedience movement, when he was leading the police force.

He said it would not have been possible for the police to stop the violent action if they had only used tear gas, but not rubber bullets and bean bag rounds. He added the police had showed restraint by only using force "passively", and more people would have been hurt had police not acted at the time.

Nearly 80 people were injured in the clashes on June 12.

On Friday, Amnesty International said it had verified several instances where police had used unnecessary and excessive force.

Protesters, who most recently surrounded the police headquarters on Friday, have demanded that authorities labelling of the protest as a "riot" be retracted and for an investigation to be launched into alleged police violence on that day.

The police have condemned the siege of the police headquarters, saying the means by which protesters have expressed their views have become “illegal, irrational and unreasonable.”

The force said the protest had seriously affected the police’s work, including the provision of emergency services to the public. It said nine female and four male staff were sent to hospital for treatment.

The police added they would “stringently follow up on these illegal activities”.

Tsang, who was recently nominated by Beijing to be the next head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, also said he hopes public apologies won't become "endemic", when asked by reporters about whether the police should apologise for using excessive force during the June 12 protest.

He said he hopes people could put themselves in the officers' shoes and think about what they would do under those circumstances. He said people should ask themselves whether they would want officers to carry out their duties or simply run away from the problem.

Tsang added that if the police believe there are things that they didn't do well, they would make their own decision on whether to make an apology.