A police officer fired a shot while trying to stop a car being driven at him in Tai Po yesterday afternoon, with the sound of the bullet caught in dashcam video released online.
The dramatic incident, which didn’t result in any injuries, with the bullet glancing off the vehicle’s side, followed a car chase through the New Territories.
According to a police statement released yesterday, at 1:30pm officers received a report from a 23-year-old man who said he spotted someone driving a light goods vehicle (LGV) that was stolen from his employer on Jockey Club Road in Sheung Shui.
After the police pursuit, the LGV collided with another LGV that was driven by the informant — who had also given chase — at the Lam Kam Road interchange.
The man driving in the suspicious LGV got out of the vehicle, got into a private car, a silver BMW, and fled.
As officers tried to intercept the BMW, it drove towards the officer, prompting him to fire one shot at the target. The BMW drove towards Tai Po, and was found by officers parked near Tai Po’s Kwong Fuk estate around 3:30pm with a bullet hole on the left side.
Officers also seized a trace amount of methamphetamine, or ice, inside the abandoned LGV.
Four police officers, and the 23-year-old informant, were sent to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in a conscious state for medical examination after reporting to feel unwell.
At a press briefing held last night, superintendent Kitty Chan Yi-ping from the New Territories North Regional Crime headquarters said they would investigate the incident — which is the protocol for all cases involving officers discharging firearms — and defended the officer’s decision to open fire, saying it was legal given the circumstances.
She said the sergeant had no choice but the fire the shot at the target given the threat to his life, adding that police have very stringent standards on the use of force.
In dash cam footage sent to Apple Daily, a gunshot can be heard as a silver car is seen being driven away.
The stolen white LGV belonged to a man surnamed Wong, who told Apple Daily that it went missing on August 14 as his 23-year-old employee was preparing to load goods onto the van, and someone got into the driver’s seat and drove it away.
The employer saw it twice after it was stolen; the first time was on August 19 when he saw the van parked at a gas station in Fanling, but it drove off before he could catch him, and the second time was yesterday.
