Watchdog censures police over excessive use of force in 7-Eleven incident

Taipei, Oct. 27 (CNA) Taiwan's Control Yuan censured the National Police Agency on Sunday for the excessive use of force by police during a May 2023 incident involving a man who violently attacked police while rampaging through a convenience store in Taoyuan.

The police officers not only violated safety protocols during the arrest, putting themselves in danger, but also acted disproportionately by striking the man with a baton after he had already been subdued, the government watchdog said in a statement.

The police agency should improve its training and review the procurement of security equipment on a regular basis, the Control Yuan said.

The incident began when 28-year-old amateur bodybuilder, surnamed Chu (朱), entered a 7-Eleven store shirtless on May 20 and began acting erratically, talking to himself and knocking over product displays, prompting the store's clerk to call the police.

When police arrived at the store and asked Chu to leave, he became even more enraged, striking both officers in the face in turn as they tried to disable him with pepper spray, according to the Taoyuan Police Department's Zhongli Precinct.

Videos of the altercation were widely shared on social media shortly after, in particular, a clip in which Chu, while fighting off the two officers, squats, flexes his muscles and roars, leading local media to dub him the "Taiwanese Hulk"

More controversial, however, was a second clip taken after he had been subdued.

Sitting on the steps outside the store, the video footage showed Chu being struck by an officer 12 times with a baton as he curled up on the ground and cried repeatedly that the officer was hurting him.

The Zhongli Precinct responded later that after Chu was subdued, he continued to verbally "provoke" the responding officers by threatening to kill them.

The precinct, however, also admitted that one of the officers, surnamed Wang (王), appeared to have lost control and used excessive force, resulting in administrative demerits.

Although Chu and the police officers initially sued each other for injury, both parties reached a settlement and withdrew their complaints in August 2023.

According to the Control Yuan, the officers should have maintained a safe distance from Chu upon noticing his unstable mental condition, rather than "grabbing Chu's wrist to take him outside the store for clarification on the incident."

Additionally, the watchdog pointed out that future police training should focus on effective communication rather than resorting to force.

It also urged the NPA to review its equipment, as the agency's training materials indicated that "projectile stun guns" are the most effective tools for police enforcement in situations like this, yet officers were not equipped with them due to a shortage.