IPCC Calls For More Details Of Pepper Spray Move

A vice-chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Council, Tony Tse, says the watchdog was informed only on Monday of a decision to allow off-duty officers to carry pepper spray, as he called on the police department to provide more details about this.

The police in an internal memo said officers will be able to carry pepper spray when they are off-duty from Tuesday.

Tse said there are many questions he wants the force to answer, such as which officers will be given permission to carry pepper spray, and what guidelines these officers will have to follow.

"At the moment, we are asking for more details, such as guidelines. And also we will follow up regularly about if this equipment is used during off-duty periods, what are the cases so that we can study [whether] the use of this equipment is proper and well recorded," said Tse.

The new police move comes after a weekend of protests that saw a number of attacks against officers, with one officer's neck slashed with a box cutter.

Last month, officers were also told they could start arming themselves with retractable batons when not on duty, in response to the ongoing anti-government protests.