Chongqing police apologize! Police officers breaking the law damages the legal system and shatters public trust

Compiled from: Global Times
 
Case review
On May 20, 2020, Ms. Wang had a conflict with Mr. Li over emotional issues. After she reported it, Officer Chen from Wanglongmen Police Station handled the case. Officer Chen organized a mediation between the two parties on June 13, but they failed to reach an agreement.

 
 

Around 7 p.m. on June 18, Officer Chen again asked Ms. Wang to come to the police station for mediation and to make a statement. Ms. Wang did not immediately agree to Officer Chen's request due to personal reasons. However, during the call, Officer Chen said, "Don't think that just because you're a graduate student, you know everything," and stated that he would summon her.
 
Ms. Wang felt offended by Officer Chen's words and called 110 to file a complaint. According to the "Chongqing Public Security Bureau Telephone Alarm Response Comprehensive Form," Ms. Wang reported the incident at 7:34 p.m. that evening, stating, "...the officer verbally insulted the caller, and the caller believes the officer handled the matter improperly and had a bad attitude, requesting assistance." At 7:41 p.m., the Yuzhong District Branch issued an order to Wanglongmen Police Station, and officers were dispatched.
 
Around 8 p.m. that evening, the complained-about Officer Chen and three colleagues arrived at her home. Ms. Wang told them not to enter upon seeing them. The officers then attempted to drag her out of the door. She struggled to break free but was still pulled out of the house. Ms. Wang's mother tried to stop them, but the officers claimed she was obstructing official duties and sprayed pepper spray into the elderly woman's eyes. Ms. Wang's father came to check on her mother and was also sprayed with pepper spray and hit with a baton by the officers. Subsequently, Ms. Wang was handcuffed and taken away.

 

At the end of December 2020, Ms. Wang and her parents separately sued Wanglongmen Police Station. On July 14, 2021, the Yuzhong District Intermediate People's Court issued a first-instance verdict.
 
 
[1] Court Opinion
The court held that the prerequisite for the police officers of Wanglongmen Police Station to use expelling or restraining police equipment was that the other party had engaged in "violent resistance or obstruction," meaning it must reach the level of "violence" or constitute an assault on the police. Video evidence in the case showed that when the police summoned Ms. Wang and attempted to control and take her away, Ms. Wang's mother questioned the summons, repeatedly extended her hands demanding the police handcuff her, and was emotionally agitated; Ms. Wang's father also questioned the summons and grabbed the police's pepper spray. Although the aforementioned actions of the two had a provocative nature, they did not reach the level requiring the police to use pepper spray, batons, or other police equipment, nor did they assault the police. Therefore, the court determined that the police's use of pepper spray and batons against the two did not meet the conditions for using police equipment as stipulated, and their actions were illegal.
 
Secondly, the court also held that the police officers of the defendant Wanglongmen Police Station had telephoned Ms. Wang to come to the station for further questioning regarding the involved public security case, but the plaintiff Ms. Wang refused. Under these circumstances, the defendant Wanglongmen Police Station had the legal right to summon Ms. Wang. The police officers were required to use a summons warrant for Ms. Wang according to law, and their failure to do so violated Article 82 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China. In summary, the oral summons of the plaintiff Ms. Wang by the police officers of the defendant Wanglongmen Police Station without a summons warrant violated legal procedures and should be determined as illegal.
 
The police appealed against the first-instance court judgment.

 

 
Laws & Regulations
Article 82 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China
If it is necessary to summon a person who violates public security administration for investigation, a summons warrant shall be used with the approval of the head of the case-handling department of the public security organ. For a person who violates public security administration discovered at the scene, the people's police may make an oral summons after presenting their work credentials, but this shall be noted in the interrogation record.
 
The public security organ shall inform the summoned person of the reason and basis for the summons. For a person who refuses to accept the summons without justifiable reasons or evades the summons, compulsory summons may be used.
 
《 Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Use of Police Implements and Weapons by People's Police 》 Article 7
People's police may use batons, tear gas, high-pressure water cannons, special anti-riot guns, and other expelling or subduing police implements in any of the following circumstances, if warnings are ineffective:
(1) Engaging in gang fights, assaulting others, creating disturbances, insulting women, or engaging in other hooligan activities;
(2) Gathering crowds to disrupt order in public places such as railway stations, docks, civil aviation stations, or sports venues;
(3) Illegally holding assemblies, processions, or demonstrations;
(4) Forcibly crossing the cordon set up by the people's police in the performance of their duties;
(5) Resisting or obstructing the people's police from lawfully performing their duties by violent means;
(6) Assaulting the people's police;
(7) Other acts that endanger public safety, social order, or the personal safety of citizens and require immediate intervention;
(8) Other circumstances prescribed by laws or administrative regulations where police equipment may be used.
When using police equipment in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the people's police shall limit such use to stopping illegal or criminal acts; once the illegal or criminal acts have been stopped, they shall immediately cease use.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
On September 12, the Yuzhong District Branch of the Chongqing Public Security Bureau reported that the police officer's oral summons to Ms. Wang violated legal procedures, and the use of police equipment against Ms. Wang's parents did not comply with relevant regulations. It was decided to suspend officers Fu and Chen from duty and subject them to investigation by disciplinary and supervisory departments. The police station was ordered to withdraw its appeal.

 
 

In this case, the police officers actually made two mistakes. First, when Ms. Wang refused to be questioned again, the officers did not present a summons warrant but directly handcuffed her. Second, although Ms. Wang's parents acted disruptively, their behavior did not warrant the use of police equipment; however, the officers not only used pepper spray but also a baton. Undoubtedly, based on the law enforcement video footage, both actions violated relevant regulations. In this regard, the author believes the first-instance court's ruling was lawful and reasonable. Of course, appealing is a right of both parties in litigation, but after the police station appealed, the Yuzhong Branch ordered it to withdraw, which was somewhat embarrassing. Fortunately, the police promptly corrected the error, preventing the farce from continuing.
 
Overall, this seems like an embarrassing farce but is actually a lamentable tragedy. Since childhood, we have been taught to turn to the police when in trouble, which not only means they are physically stronger than ordinary citizens but also because they hold greater power to punish wrongdoers. But imagine how terrifying it would be if such power were arbitrarily imposed on innocent people. For this reason, police must be very cautious in law enforcement and must never knowingly break the law. The people grant police power in the hope that when they are trapped in darkness, there will be a light to illuminate their world and a force to break through the gloom—not to strike them down.