【明報專訊】THE FAMILY of a man with psychosis called the police for help after he began attacking them at home. Shortly after arriving at the scene, the police shot dead the mentally ill man, who had charged forward with a knife.
While the family were dissatisfied with the police's "unprofessional" handling of the case, Police Commissioner Raymond Siu said an in-depth investigation would be conducted. He also stated that the use of firearms by the police officer handling the case had been "a decision made according to the guidelines".
The family recounted that the now-deceased man, mentally ill, had indeed made an attack. By the time of the police's arrival, they had retreated into a room, leaving only the man and the police to confront each other at the scene. According to the police's account of the case, "a person was approaching the police with a sharp object" at the time. The family said that in less than two minutes after the police's arrival, the man was fatally shot in the chest by the police at the mere distance of 1.5 metres from the officer firing his gun.
There is something the police can do when waiting for the Coroner's Court to begin hearing the case. Concerning why the police at the scene did not use long batons and shields to protect their own safety or subdue the man, the police might offer a more detailed explanation based on facts after an in-depth investigation. However, this inevitably invites questions. Are police guidelines for handling people with mental illnesses involved in crimes professional and up to standard? Is it necessary for experts to check whether they require improvements? The police need to review these in a timely manner.
Even if the relevant police guidelines meet high standards, have the police officers responsible for operations received enough training? Have they had one or two training sessions in the police academy? Are regular workshops provided by experts to give lessons to police officers and answer their queries? Are police officers, who always deal with ever-changing situations, fully prepared, so that they will not adopt a wrong approach to a situation due to misjudgment, which may escalate the emotional distress of the people concerned and provoke them into acts of violence, thus endangering themselves and the police?
If police officers handling emergencies lack training, a long-term training course can be formulated immediately. But while the grass grows, the horse starves. Police management should immediately draw up emergency guidelines for handling mentally ill individuals with violent tendencies so that officers are clearly instructed.
The fatal shooting of the man with mental illness in North Point was an irreversible tragedy. His family are overcome with grief, and the public is overwhelmingly sympathetic towards them, but it shall be determined by established institutional procedures whether the police officers who handled the case on the spot were at fault.
What the public needs to know most are whether the tragedy could have been avoided, how to prevent another similar incident, and what the police force should do about this in the short and long terms. All these are to be unpicked by the senior officials of the SAR government. However, with an outpouring of emotions from all sides, the urgent task for the police management is to offer an explanation to the public to prevent damage to the professional image of the police force.
明報社評2024.09.24：警方毋須急於下結論 應對病人訓練須檢討
一名患思覺失調精神病男子在家中攻擊家人，家人報警求助，警方到場後在短時間內開槍擊斃持刀衝前的精神病患者。
家人不滿警方處理手法不專業，警務處長蕭澤頤除表示會深入調查，同時表示處理案件警員的開槍行動是「按指引作出決定」。
按照死者家屬的描述，患精神病死者當時確實有過攻擊行為，而警方到場時，家人已經躲進房間，對峙現場只有死者及警察。據警方交代案情，當時「有人持利器逼近警員」。死者家屬表示，警方到場後不到兩分鐘，死者遭警察開槍射中胸部致死，開槍警察與死者距離只有1.5米。
在等待死因裁判庭開庭研訊之際，警方並非沒有事情可做。對於現場警察為何不用長棍和盾牌保護自身安全，或者制服死者，相信經過警方深入調查，或許會以事實給出更詳盡的解釋，但無可避免引起一個疑問，警方對於涉案精神病人的處理手法，所採用的指引，是否符合專業精神與標準，是否有必要讓專家檢查有沒有改善的必要，對此，警方需要及時檢討。
即使警方的有關指引符合高標準，負責執行行動的警員是否有足夠的訓練，究竟是在警察學堂有過一兩節課，還是定期提供工作坊，讓專家給警員上課及解答疑難，給經常要處理千變萬化情况的警察，有足夠的準備，避免因為誤判而採用錯誤的手法應對，激化有情緒問題的當事人走向使用暴力，增加當事人和警察造成傷害的風險。
處理緊急情况的警察，若然缺乏足夠訓練，可以立即制定長遠的培訓課程，但亡羊補牢需時。警隊高層應該立即就應對有暴力傾向的精神病人，制定緊急指引，清晰指示警員。
北角精神病患者被擊斃的悲劇已經發生，家屬傷痛不已，社會同情無限。現場處理的警察是否有過失，留待既定的制度程序去處理。
人們最需要知道的是，此悲劇是否可以避免，如何避免同類型事件再次發生，警隊為此在短期和長遠應該做什麼。這些都有待特區政府高層去檢討，但在各方情緒激動的當下，警隊高層如何向市民交代，避免警隊專業形象受到損害，才是當務之急。
■ Glossary 生字 /
retreat : to move away from a place because you are in danger
irreversible : that cannot be changed back to what it was before
unpick : to examine the different parts of a subject, deal etc, especially in order to find faults