Former IPCC Foreign Expert: Report Lacks Key Data and Independent Inquiry Needed

Clifford Stott, a professor of social psychology at Keele University in Britain, has criticised the report on police conduct released by
Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) in Hong Kong on May 15.

Stott was hired by the IPCC, before he and all other 4 foreign experts quitted the board in December 2019, citing that the IPCC lacked the powers and capacity to conduct independent investigation.

Stott tweeted after the report went public, "It would seem the release of the IPCC report is part of a wider set of coordinated announcements designed to deliver the new 'truth'." His comment was accompanied by a quote by George Orwell, the author famous for his books 1984 and Animal Farm.

On the same day, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government was seeking ways to prevent "lies" from spreading online and that the police's professionalism was beyond doubt, Stott responded with the tweet: "Speechless!"

An independent investigation of police violence has been one of the five demands of the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong since the police-civilian clash on June 12, 2019. Stott also pointed out that the current report lacks key data and an independent inquiry is needed to settle public concern about the Hong Kong Policd Force's conduct.

Chief Executive, however, has been rejecting the possibility of an independent investigation to this very day. Meanwhile, Lam, the Hong Kong police force and the Security Bureau all praised the report which claimed that there is no "systemic problems" in the police force.

Source: RTHK; Stand News #May15
#IPCC #GeorgeOrwell #Stott

#IPCC #PoliceReport
What did the IPCC report tell us about the Yuen Long incident on July 21 2019?

When citizens were attacked by white-clad gangsters in Yuen Long on July 21, 2019, many victims and witnesses of the brutality condemned the police for turning a blind eye. Not only that the police station was shut early, but the police hotline was also not answered.

Watch video here.

The police watchdog's report, however, blamed the influx of phone calls to the police hotline as “irresponsible and damaging, an apparent attempt to paralyses the Emergency Communications Center”

Source: 100 Most #May15 #PoliceState #PoliceHotline #PoliceBritality #NewTruth

Former IPCC Foreign Expert: Report Lacks Key Data and Independent Inquiry Needed
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20815

IPCC Police Report Concludes with a Statement by Police Commissioner
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20780

#CitizensPressConference
Only a Reform Would Do: The Quest for an Independent Investigation that Is True to Its Name

May 15, 2020 by Citizens’ Press Conference

//The IPCC’s lack of independence, and its use as yet another PR gig by the Hong Kong government, has brought doubts to the public on its credibility and relevance before it has even spoken. Chan continued to outline three main issues that the IPCC’s report does not have any statutory powers to address and thus would need to be done so by a newly formed Independent Commission of Inquiry.//

Read more:
https://telegra.ph/Only-a-Reform-Would-Do-The-Quest-for-an-Independent-Investigation-that-Is-True-to-Its-Name-05-15

Source: Citizens’ Press Conference; Stand News #May15
#IPCC #PoliceBrutality #PowerAbuse #HongKongProtests

Hong Kong‘s Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) has released its 999-page report on the behaviour of the police force during last year’s city-wide protests and unrest, concluding that officers generally acted within guidelines but there was “room for improvement.”

Why are we not surprised?

#IPCC #HongKongPolice

#IPCC Police Review Report Criticised for being false and biased

Continue Reading
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/20998

#IPCC Police Review Report Criticised for Being False and Biased

IPCC published its report on the anti-ELAB movement. Yuen Long District Councillor Tommy Cheung commented on the report on 17 May during RTHK’s City Forum program. Cheung said that he did not expect anything from the report: “you can’t be disappointed when you don’t have any expectation, but this report still blew our minds.”

He pointed out that the “facts” in the report were partial. In one instance, the report cited fake news and a fake poster calling for protest in Yuen Long on July 22, 2019 from Chinese social media, Weibo. Though it was known to be fake, the report still claimed that it was from LIHKG forum.

Cheung criticised IPCC for failing to verify its source and questioned the credibility of the report. IPCC council member Chan Kam-wing admitted that they “did not investigate”.

Cheung also indicated that the report reduced the July 21 incident into a “conflict between the black-clad and the white-clad". In reality, the white-clad gangsters did not just attack black-clad citizens, but also train passengers and passersby including a pregnant lady.

Moreover, the report justified the police’s claims such as “I can’t read the watch” and “I can’t see any weapon” as a “public relations” problem. Cheung showed that the report was biased towards the police: For instance, it was mentioned that someone tried to “freeze” the 999 call center, but in reality, they were citizens who tried to seek help.

Former Student Union President of the Education University Leung Yiu-ting, who was arrested during the 8.31 Prince Edward station incident, questioned why the police never seek information from witnesses. This contradicts the police saying that they want to investigate.

Source: Stand News #May17 #PoliceBrutality #HongKongPolice #721YuenLong #831PrinceEdward

Prof Clifford Stott, who sat on the international expert panel advising the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) before all of its members resigned last year over concerns about its limited powers, posted an excerpt of his report on Twitter.

After the IPCC report had been published, Prof Stott utilised the data thereof and issued his scientific analysis of the evolution of the 2019 protest movement in Hong Kong.

Stott's report discusses the inter-relationships between the policing and behavioural patterns of the 2019 movement. The movement can be divided into at least 3 key phases: protests against the controversial bill, protests against mainland influence into and over Hong Kong, and protest actions targeted at the police.

Had the #IPCC report included the aforementioned components and made a fair judgment on the protests, Prof Stott would not have quit the international expert panel. What is the implication of Prof Stott's quitting? And what is the implication of the evolution of the movement in Hong Kong?

#HKPolice #HongKongProtests
#HKPoliceBrutality

Source:
https://twitter.com/cliffordstott/status/1261699933276684288

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3084784/hong-kong-protests-after-quitting-inquiry-police

IPCC trusts and adopts entirely what the commissioner of police has said, instead of taking an objective and independent stance of investigation

#IPCC

#Interview
Ex-IPCC Panel Member: IPCC's incompetence and disproportionate criticism of protestors

In this interview, Clifford Stott, a former member of the international expert panel for the Independent Police Complaints Council (#IPCC) expressed his concerns over the neutrality of the IPCC and the fact that the commision only used police accounts, making it impossible to remain neutral and maintain its status as a police watchdog

He also critized the police's inability to deescalate and contain situations, citing examples of the firing of tear gas into peaceful crowds, almost causing a stampede, the police failing to respond on 721, and how a civilian was brutalized by a group of 15 blue ribbions outside LegCo where 100 riot police were stationed that day.

He concluded that the IPCC's incompetence and disproportionate criticism of protestors along with the polices inability to respond in press conferences has caused people to perceive the police in a negative light, resulting in the police themselves being one of the main reasons of the escalation of violence in the protests.

Source: Nathan Law's Official Facebook Page

#CliffordStott

IPCC offered an ‘explanation’ for police’s failure of arresting the white-clad gang on 7.21, but it became an irony when we look at the mass arrests of civilians in numerous other occasions

#IPCC #YuenLong721

#Newspaper

China's newspaper People’s Daily sings praises for IPCC report, saying it removes all injustice against Hong Kong police

(16 May) After 10 months of “investigation”, the Hong Kong Independent Police Complains Council (IPCC) released the overview for the anti-extradition law amendment bill (ELAB) protests yesterday (May 16th, 2020). People’s Daily, China’s official press, stated that the report “addressed every possible problem with equal importance”; “through strict scientific investigations, all possible suspicions of the police force are raised”. The article, which was accompanied by a picture with two police officers with the captions “PROTECTOR” and “30,000 FOR 7 MILLION” on it, also stated that the IPCC report “used plenty of evidence to show that police are the true guardians of Hong Kong since the start of the anti-ELAB incidents”.

However, what IPCC announced yesterday was a “thematic study report” instead of an “investigation report”. Anthony Neoh, chairman of the IPCC, highlighted that the IPCC does not have powers for investigation, and the report was based on what the police force claimed. Meanwhile, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong chief executive, strongly rejected establishing an independent investigation council again yesterday.

People’s Daily’s article, “Who are the true guardians of Hong Kong?”, says that the IPCC “investigation report”, using many facts and statistics, recovered the “6 major truths” of the anti-ELAB crisis, including the “police-triad collusion” on 21 July, 2019 and “police murdering innocents in Prince Edward station” on 31 August, 2019 and proved that these “incidents” were all rumors. “Such ‘investigation’ cleansed all doubts and injustice against the Hong Kong police and showed that the police force are the true guardians of Hong Kong with plenty of evidence”, the article says.
The article suggested that aggressive Hong Kong protesters “has threatened the government with violence by vandalizing infrastructures, paralyzing public order and discretely injuring individuals”; such actions “have turned Hong Kong into a city of darkness and fear, which could be compared to the damage of World War II”. “If the police force did not intervene (with their actions), it would be impossible to think how much damage these rioters would cause to ‘the Pearl of the East’”. “In the course of the police force restoring justice, ‘rioting forces’ have tried to tarnish the police reputation to make way for their violent behaviors by manipulating public opinions”.

The report also sings praises for the IPCC report, saying that the report “does not attempt to dodge or undermine the importance of every problem; through strict scientific investigations, it justified the legality and validity of the police force”. “Although there are some flaws in the police forces’ actions”, the report says, “the police force does adhere to regulations in their actions; such minor problems should not be exaggerated by the opposition to harm the police force’s image”.

Source: Stand News

#IPCC #antiELAB #PoliceBrutality #721Incident #831Incident #ChinesePropaganda #independentinvestigation