IPCC names foreign experts to aid study

Police watchdog says it will conduct a thematic study of police behaviour during the current protests. File photo: RTHK

The police watchdog said on Wednesday that five foreign experts will be joining its panel to study police conduct during the current extradition bill saga.



Protesters and critics, including some well-known rights groups, have accused the police of using excessive force and abusing their power and have called for an independent probe into the behaviour of officers.



But the government has rejected this demand, saying the existing mechanism is enough to address the issue. Complaints made against police officers are investigated by the force itself and the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) can only monitor how these probes are carried out. The IPCC does not have any investigative power.



The watchdog had said that it will seek help from outside experts to help their study, but rejected a suggestion to have a judge on the panel.



The five-member expert panel will be headed by Sir Denis O’Connor who served as a top official in the British police until 2012, the IPCC said.



Other members will be Colin Doherty, who headed the police watchdog in New Zealand; Michael Adams QC from Australia; Prof Clifford Stott, a natural sciences academic from Keele University in the UK; as well as Gerry McNeilly, a former head of a civilian watchdog that monitors police in Canada.