Hong Kong in Shock After Police Tackle a 12-Year-Old Girl

Footage of two officers tackling a 12-year-old girl to the ground on a Hong Kong street over the weekend has ignited a fresh outpouring of anger amid ongoing criticisms of police violence. Video shared widely on social media showed police kettling a group of people on a sidewalk in the district of Mong Kok. The girl, who was in the crowd, then started to run away. Shouting “stand still!,” an officer chased her as another tackled her to the ground; a third then joined to restrain her. Since mass pro-democracy protests erupted in the city last June, Hong Kong police have come under growing criticism over excessive use of force in handling protesters. Incidents last year include alleged sexual assault of female students, indiscriminately pepper spraying and beating train passengers, and a two-week-long siege of college campuses.