Riot gear to be kept in police vehicles following criticism of police preparedness for Mong Kok riot

Riot gear including tear gas canisters and rifles will be loaded onto police vehicles during each ­deployment in the wake of the Mong Kok riot, the Post has learned.

One frontline officer commented: “Top management finally woke up from a long dream.”

A top police source told the Sunday Morning Post that the force was examining whether all vehicles from the Emergency Unit (EU) and Police Tactical Unit (PTU) should be stored with tear gas canisters, semi-automatic AR15 rifles, Federal Riot guns and rubber bullets.

“[The implemention of the plan] is just a matter of time. The management realised this necessity after the Mong Kok riot,” said the source. “Our tactics need to be revised.”

Riot gear is currently understood to be stored in five regional bases and police headquarters in Wan Chai. The weapons are not loaded onto police cars and are deployed only when needed. The Kowloon West operational base is in Mong Kok police station, close to the site of the riot.

Emergency Unit officers, who patrol on streets and respond to 999 calls, are equipped with gear including helmets, shields, MP5 submachine guns and Remington arms.

With protests becoming more violent in recent years,the force has had no time to go back and forth to collect riot gear.

READ MORE: Attacked by bricks during Mong Kok riot, Hong Kong now so volatile that firefighters need special training to handle it

“Clashes broke out instantly. If the responding units had enough gear at the scene, we would not have to wait for an hour for the PTU to arrive,” said the source.

Watch: Police fire warning shots, protesters clash in Mong Kok

The bloody overnight violence in Mong Kok on February 8 left nearly 130 people – including more than 90 officers – injured. Apart from the firing of two live rounds in the air, frontline officers used only batons and pepper spray.

Commenting on the proposal, an Emergency Unit officer from Kowloon West who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “It’s a timely wake-up call. Finally the top officers who stay in their office have woken up.”

Junior police union chairman Joe Chan Cho-kwong, who is also an EU officer in Kowloon East, said he could not welcome the plan as the team was supposed to have these weapons in the past.

“When our duties changed over the decades from anti-riot to emergency response, the gear was offloaded from vehicles,” said Chan. “We are just back to the basics.”

Police Director of Operations Alan Lau Yip-shing earlier told the Legislative Council that EU teams which had finished their duties policing the crowds at a Lunar New Year parade in Tsim Sha Tsui, were deployed to Mong Kok shortly before midnight. More EU and PTU personnel with riot gear were sent at 1.30am after rioters became more violent.

Another EU officer from Kowloon West told the Post that the team was asked to bring four items – ballistic helmets, long batons, gas masks and riot shields.

Watch: Video from above showing policeman being knocked down by rioters

“We knew it was going to be a hard battle, so we asked the top commander at the scene if tear gas and Federal Riot guns were needed. He answered ‘I have said very clearly what to bring’. What else could we do?” the officer asked.

It is understood the officer was referring to Crusade Yau Siu-kei, acting Mong Kok district commander that night.

“Tear gas is no longer an ­option after what happened in the Occupy movement. No one wants to bear the responsibility,” the ­officer said.

The force deflected a list of questions asked by the Post, including when the new proposal would be carried out, and what gear was loaded on board during the riot.

“Given the confidential nature of Police operational deployment, it is not appropriate for us to disclose details of the operation,” a police spokesman said.

“The level of force to be used shall be minimal and reasonably required under the prevailing circumstances.”

In the latest development, a 25-year-old man was arrested yesterday in connection with the Mong Kok riot. This brought the number of arrests to 77. At least 47 have been charged with rioting.