Watchdog Backs Prince Edward Storming

The IPCC report released on Friday backed the police over their controversial decision to storm the Prince Edward Station last August, but chided the force over the firing of tear gas into train stations, and the use of pepper-ball weapons against protesters at close range.

It said the widely circulated footage of the August 31 events, showing officers using force against passengers in an MTR train compartment at Prince Edward station “does not show the whole picture”.

It said news footage had showed many protesters changing their clothes to disguise themselves as passengers.

The report said the “police had to close the station so that the protesters could not escape”.

The watchdog, which does not have powers to conduct a probe or summon officers, said the Prince Edward incident was “among the most publicly discussed and spawned hate messages against the Police on a par with the Yuen Long Incident”.

It also said the denial of entry to ambulance officers for some 14-16 minutes, showed a need for “better communication between the police and Fire Services Department (FSD) in a major incident like this”.

The report also urged the police to review their policies on firing tear gas in partially enclosed areas like MTR station.

But it defended officers who used the noxious gas inside the Kwai Fong station in August, saying the MTR had by then announced the clearing of the station. It added that most protesters were wearing respirators and the station was only partially enclosed.

“The use of tear gas did achieve the purpose of dispersing the violent protesters who had refused to leave the station, thus avoiding physical confrontation and possible casualties,” it said.

In the incident in Tai Koo Station on August 11, where dozens of protesters were trapped near an entrance and pepper balls were fired at close range, the report said this weapon “should not have been aimed at or hit protesters above the shoulder”.

While recommending review of the tactics, the IPCC also noted that “protesters used MTR lines to mobilise themselves to different places and even to evade arrest by adopting urban guerrilla tactics”.

Referring to the July 1 storming and vandalism of the Legislative Council complex by protesters, the report rejected claims that police had left the building unguarded to try to turn public opnion against the demonstrators.

It said “one might ask what would the police gain by deliberately failing in their prime objective of protecting the Legco complex”.

The watchdog slammed the police tactics of deploying officers to guard inside the Legco complex, saying if they had steps like setting up stronger barriers outside, “the protesters’ breaking in and vandalising might well have been avoided”.