Experience & Facts About Police Shootings
But chances are the police will be on a charm offensive when they take Surendran along, or at least they will behave with great restraint. And then what? Will Surendran then announce that the police behaved well when confronted by people they suspect to be carrying arms? And will that then be generalized by Police leaders to suggest that this is standard operating procedure and the police always behave well?
Dr Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser
The Malaysian police seem to be on a charm offensive to dispel any notion of their trigger happy reputation when they agreed to allow Surendran MP to follow them when they do go out on a “raid”. Sankara Nair has pointed out some valid legal implications of such a police action. But what is Surendran’s outcome in wanting to tag along on a police outing when they confront alleged gangsters? Are the police likely to be on their best behavior with an advocate present or are they going to carry on as they normally do?
The first important question is to ask: What is their Standard Operating procedure when the police go out on a raid? Well, the Home Minister provided us with the answer a few days ago when he said that the police have a “shoot first” policy when they confront anyone they suspect to be carrying arms. That alone speaks volumes about past, present and future police practice unless an institution such as the Independent Police Complaints & Misconduct Committee (IPCMC) is quickly set up to rein in our police force and prevent more people from being killed.
But chances are the police will be on a charm offensive when they take Surendran along, or at least they will behave with great restraint. And then what? Will Surendran then announce that the police behaved well when confronted by people they suspect to be carrying arms? And will that then be generalized by Police leaders to suggest that this is standard operating procedure and the police always behave well?
The night of generalisations
Such generalisations about police practice have happened before. I remember during Operation Lalang in 1987, when some detainees were in the hands of the “good cops” and were released during the first sixty days, they came out singing the praises of the police and the Special Branch based on their own personal experience. Some went on to condemn those who had exposed the torture of other detainees by the “bad cops”. After reading about the torture of detainees such as Joshua Jamaluddin, we had a factual basis for challenging the wisdom of those who extrapolate their “good” individual experiences into a generalized “truth” regarding police behavior.
The facts surrounding police shootings
I would say the most significant admission of the police’ “shoot first” policy was provided by the Home Minister himself in a moment of macho nakedness when he was addressing UMNO delegates in Malacca last week. But the facts also speak for themselves:
Besides the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Aminulrasyid, there were 37 recorded shootings by the police in 2012, incidents in which the police opened fire and which resulted in deaths. According to SUARAM’s documentation and monitoring in its annual human rights reports, this has been a consistent trend for past years. Other facts and statistics can be gleaned in “Policing the Malaysian Police” (edited by Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM 2005).
Established code of conduct for the police
It is worrying that the Home Minister is not aware that in 1979, Malaysia adopted Resolution 34/169 on a Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials at the United Nations General Assembly. Article 3 of the Resolution clearly states:
“…law enforcement officials must use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty…”
Further, in 1990, the government of Malaysia participated and adopted the basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by law Enforcement Officials in the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders.
IPCMC is the only solution to police impunity
In the light of the facts surrounding police shootings, only an Independent Police Complaints & Misconduct Committee can deal with any abuse of police powers. Whenever there is a police shooting and especially if there is a fatality, the police must immediately step aside for the IPCMC to begin investigations. This is the SOP in countries such as the UK and it should be the case in our country as well.
