Statement: Condolences to Victims of the Sai Wan Ho Shooting and Concern for Frontline Police Mental Health

Date

11 November 2019

The Lady Liberty Hong Kong team is shocked and outraged by the shooting in Sai Wan Ho this morning. We hereby extend our heartfelt condolences to the two injured and their families.

Demonstrations and police-civilian clashes continued across districts throughout the day. We pay our respects to the courage and persistence of protesters everywhere. We hope the injured recover swiftly and return home safely.

Beyond the safety of protesters, the team is deeply concerned about the mental health of the police force. News footage from today showed frontline officers wielding deadly weapons in emotional states that appeared to be on the verge of losing control. Officers in an unstable mental state pose a danger to the public, to protesters, and to their own colleagues. We are also outraged by Chief Executive Carrie Lam's statement at a press conference that she did not believe the police were out of control.

The unprofessional conduct of certain officers is not an isolated incident — it has been documented repeatedly over the past months, from the "don't touch my back" incident, to the "banana candy" affair, to officers at a vigil for a deceased HKUST student reportedly saying "we're opening champagne tonight." Across months of protest, it has often been inappropriate police conduct that has escalated chaos and endangered the public.

We strongly condemn such unprofessional, inappropriate, and inhumane law enforcement behaviour, and demand that the SAR Government and relevant departments take seriously the mental health crisis among frontline personnel.

The Lady Liberty Hong Kong team reiterates: like all protesters, we will not yield to brutal and abusive authorities.

Lady Liberty photographed in front of the walls in Prague — with thanks to supporters for providing the photo.