[Collapsed Public Authority] Police Unable to Shoot Even with Guns

<Sang>Field - Gap Between Manual and Reality

2019 Standards for Physical Force Enforcement Established
Preemptive Restraint Important but Difficult to Predict
Concerns Over Reporting After Use
0.3% of Police Responses Involve Firearms
Calls for 'Armed Police' Introduction

A man in his 40s, identified as Mr. A, who is accused of injuring three members of a neighboring family with a weapon over noise disputes between floors, is being transferred to the prosecution after leaving Namdong Police Station in Namdong-gu, Incheon, on the morning of the 24th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The Incheon inter-floor noise stabbing incident sparked national outrage due to the police's absurd response at the time. Officer A and Officer B, who were dispatched to the scene, both left the incident site and joined late. Rather than subduing the perpetrator, they effectively fled. While the police officers were away from the scene, the husband and daughter subdued the 40-year-old male perpetrator, but by then the wife had already been seriously injured. The wife was stabbed in the neck with a weapon and fell into critical condition, and the husband and daughter also received treatment at the hospital.

When this fact became known, the victim's family posted on the Blue House National Petition Board, and the number of signatures exceeded the 200,000 threshold for a response within a day, causing social outrage. Yang Gi-dae, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, likened the situation to "a soldier fleeing during combat or a firefighter running away from a fire scene." On the 24th, the man was sent to the prosecution on charges including attempted murder, special injury, and violation of the Stalking Punishment Act.

The post uploaded by the family of the victim in the Incheon inter-floor noise stabbing incident on the Blue House National Petition website.

The primary causes of this incident are cited as the police's ‘self-preservation’ attitude and inadequate education and training. Officer A, who was dispatched to the scene, was armed with a pistol, and Officer B carried an electronic shock device (Taser). However, Officer B, who entered the Police Central Academy in December last year, was assigned to the field without having received any physical force response training for six months due to COVID-19 and other reasons. Despite being a 19-year veteran, Officer A's judgment and response at the scene were very inadequate. The police's fundamental mission and sense of duty to protect the public were nowhere to be found at the scene of this incident.

However, behind this lies the reality that police officers cannot freely use armed equipment when protecting themselves and victims. The frontline police officers' self-deprecating remark that "guns are thrown, not fired" represents this situation.

In 2019, the National Police Agency established the ‘Regulations on the Standards and Methods of Police Use of Physical Force’ as an internal rule. Based on the principle of proportionality, it stipulates that officers may use up to a pistol when the perpetrator is wielding a weapon or blunt instrument and poses a lethal threat. However, frontline officers unanimously say, "There is a large gap between the field and the manual." This is because it is practically impossible to predict what situation will occur on site. For example, if the perpetrator is merely holding a weapon, the manual makes it difficult to use a pistol. The problem is that the perpetrator could suddenly change behavior at any time. A police officer from a metropolitan area precinct said, "Although preemptively subduing the suspect is the most effective, the current manual can only be applied once the situation occurs," adding, "After using physical force, a report must be filed, but many officers hesitate due to concerns about potential issues."

Standards for Police Use of Physical Force. [Source=National Police Agency]

Actual use of pistols in the field is extremely rare. According to a report published in May this year by the Police University Institute of Security Policy, among 4,951 cases of physical force used by police officers at incident scenes from August 2019 to July last year, pistol use accounted for only 14 cases (0.3%). Of these, four were used for capturing wild boars. While it could be seen as a lack of urgent situations, it also indicates that police officers are reluctant to use pistols in the field. Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University's Department of Police Science pointed out, "The police are a group authorized to carry and use firearms. If they cannot properly use them, ultimately only the public will suffer."

Consequently, there are opinions advocating the introduction of an ‘Authorized Firearms Officer (AFO)’ system to encourage more proactive firearm use by police officers. Through a strict selection process, AFOs would be trained among field officers, with one or two assigned per patrol team to use firearms in dangerous situations. The Institute of Security Policy stated in its report, "This could minimize the risks associated with firearm use and reduce the burden on regular officers," adding, "It is also expected to improve public trust in the police and enhance pride in firearm use authorization."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.