hankyoreh

through which police officials were viewed using weapons such as baseball bats against suspected gangsters. (Yonhap)

A police officer in Seoul, only identified by his surname Yoo, said he carries in his car a large wooden staff in case he is confronted with organized gangs or other dangerous criminals. At another police station in Seoul, a police officer identified by his surname Park said police officers there are carrying baseball bats for self-defense.

This is the case, even after a controversy erupted on January 6 when a closed-circuit TV camera taped police officials using weapons such as baseball bats to detain the owners of an adults-only gaming room. At that time, five police officials at Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo police station fought violently with the game-room owners, who were former members of organized gangs.

Asked why they used such weapons - illegal under police regulations - the Yeongdeungpo police station responded in a statement that "we have no choice but to use the devices, because the owners confronted us violently. It’s true that we used non-regulation devices, but it was not illegal because we used them for self-defense," the police station said.

Under current law, police officials are required to use weapons such as guns, handcuffs, batons, gas guns, and electric stun guns only during the arrest of a criminal or preventing the criminal from running away to protect the life of police officials.

However, in reality, police officials use non-regulation devices such as baseball bats because they often do not possess the weapons listed above as legal for use. For example, every police station only has a total of two stun guns to share among its officers. In addition, some police officials are reluctant to use them due to risk of self-injury by electric shock. As for traditional police batons, they are simply unable to match the force of the Japanese swords used by organized gangs.

A police official, who asked not to be named, said most police officials are also reluctant to use guns because they could face an interrogation process if a criminal is wounded. In addition, the procedure is complex in order for a police official to be allowed to use a gun, the official said.

However, civic groups leveled strong criticism at the police for using such non-regulation devices. Oh Chang-ik, an official at the Citizens’ Coalition for Human Rights, said, "It’s absolutely illegal for police to use baseball bats and steel pipes. As law enforcement officers, they should begin their operations on legal grounds," Oh said.

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