‘Everyone Is Angry’: Police Aggression Fuels Hong Kong Protests

  • Police moves have ‘radicalized’ city and prompted escalation
  • Officers say they are reacting to violence by protesters

Riot police detain a man during a protest in the Central district of Hong Kong on Nov. 12. 

Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg
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A traffic cop rode his motorcycle into a crowd of demonstrators. A group of officers pepper-sprayed a woman in the face. Riot police slammed a Citigroup Inc. staffer to the ground.

This week saw a litany of alleged police abuses quickly go viral on social media. But only one of the officers involved was suspended -- with pay. And that was only the first publicly announced punishment of an officer in five months of unrest.