At an Independent Police Complaint Council (IPCC) meeting on 21 June, a representative of the Hong Kong police said that tear gas does not cause health or environmental harm. However, on the same day, the Hong Kong High Court received a claim that tear gas had caused serious damage to a building.
At the IPCC meeting, the police spokesperson said they had received a total of 1,949 complaints related to the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement by the end of May, of which over 30 percent (618) were general complaints and 263 were serious allegations, including police abuse of power, assault, and intimidation.
Regarding the use of force, the police put out a brief in the follow-up to the IPCC’s recommendations on using force. The statement said the police didn’t consider tear gas harmful to health or the environment and there was no need to set up an expert committee to follow up on the toxicological level of tear gas, and that given Hong Kong’s environment, the police will consider the use of other weapons in the future….