Police relaxing rules on gun use

Officers likely to be allowed to shoot without prior warning

By Lee Hyo-sik

Police officers will likely be allowed to use firearms against violent suspects without prior verbal warning or firing warning shots when their lives or the lives of innocent citizens are threatened.

The move is intended to get tougher on gangsters and other violent criminals and help officers defend themselves.

But this relaxation of the rules on the use of guns is raising concerns that overuse by officers could cause human rights violations of suspects, and possible tragic consequences.

The National Police Agency (NPA) released a new draft of a manual on gun use Wednesday, and formed a task force to finalize it manual after a series of hearings.

Under the current rules, officers are required to give at least three verbal warnings to suspects wielding knives or other deadly weapons. They also need to fire blanks before using live ammunition. If suspects continue to refuse to surrender their weapons and threaten their lives, police can then open fire.

But in reality, the majority of officers are reluctant to use firearms against violent criminals out of fear they may be held accountable for injuries inflicted on suspects as a result of gun use. They may also be reprimanded if they are found to recklessly use their weapons.

The envisioned new manual will allow officers to fire without prior warning on suspects who attack them with a deadly weapon. They will also be able to shoot those who try to injure innocent citizens. During covert operations designed to apprehend North Korean spies and terrorists, officers can fire their guns at will.

“We will come up with a final version after listening to the state human rights commission and experts in various fields,” an NPA official said.

NPA Commissioner Cho Hyun-oh has been encouraging officers to use guns more actively when confronting gangsters and other violent criminals.

In particular, the commission put more pressure on the police force to use pistols and mobilize all other possible means to clamp down on organized crime and other criminals, following a violent clash between rival gangs in Incheon on Oct. 21.

Cho said officers on the scene should have opened fire. He even questioned why they practiced firing their guns if they are not willing to use them in the field.

When more than 130 gangsters from two organized crime rings clashed in the city streets late at night, police officers were dispatched to the scene. But they just watched as one of the gangsters was stabbed by a rival gang member.

The incident prompted Cho to relieve the head of the district police station of his duties and reprimand other senior officers.