Police take appropriate action to stop riot

Police had exercised restraints in handling the protests in Admiralty and its vicinity yesterday (June 12) morning. However, in the afternoon, a large group of protestors charged the Police cordon line in an organised manner which left Police with no choice but used force to disperse the crowd and stop the riot.

At around 8am yesterday, a large group of masked protesters dashed to Lung Wo Road and Harcourt Road in an organised way. They caused obstruction and disrupted public order by occupying the roads. Police had all along exercised restraint and tolerance in face of the intimidating and inciting acts by the protestors.

Till noon, Police found metal poles and planks in construction site stolen and bricks at nearby pavements pried up. At around 3pm, a large group of protestors used violence to charge police cordon line at different locations in a planned manner. During which, protestors performed life-threatening acts by hurling bricks, metal poles, planks and mills barriers at police officers who then used force with a view to protect personal safety, disperse the crowd, control the situation as well as maintain the effective operation of the Legislative Council and the safety of its staff.

The anti-riot measures Police used, including batons, pepper sprays, tear sprays, hand-throwing tear gas rounds, pepper balls, bean bag rounds and rubber bullets, are all non-lethal weapons. While overseas countries used similar equipment to deal with riots, Police had established stringent guidelines on the use of force.

The violent behavior of protestors yesterday imposed serious impact on public order. Some members of the public were trapped in the tunnel of Lung Wo Road. Upon the deployment of police negotiators, it still took eight hours to rescue the trapped persons. There were also vehicles deliberately blocking the roads in the vicinity of Admiralty and Central, paralyzing the traffic nearby.

Up till now, Police has arrested 11 persons for disorderly conduct in public place, unlawful assembly, assaulting police officers and other riot-related offences.

A total of 22 police officers sustained injuries in dealing with the riot yesterday.

Police will conduct a full review on yesterday’s operation as in the past.

Police strongly condemned the violent acts of the protestors and appealed to the public to express their views and opinions in a peaceful manner.