Specialised crowd management vehicles, commonly known as "water cannon vehicles", are vehicles procured by the Hong Kong Police Force, with three units purchased for HK$16.59 million and another three units purchased for HK$9.9 million. Water cannon vehicles are equipped with water-spraying devices, which may be used when necessary to disperse demonstrators using violent force, to stop acts that seriously endanger public safety and public order, and, in doing so, to create a safe distance between demonstrators and police officers in order to reduce the chance of injuries caused by direct confrontation between demonstrators and police officers.
On 25 August 2019, during the Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi march, water cannon vehicles were deployed for the first time and discharged water twice, first in an unsuccessful attempt to clear obstacles and later to disperse demonstrators. The police deployed water cannon vehicles again during the demonstration on 31 August 2019 and discharged water three times, including blue-coloured water on two occasions, marking the first time that the police had used water cannon vehicles to discharge "coloured water". Human rights organisations and pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong questioned the power of water cannon vehicles, citing overseas reports that they could cause injuries, and called on the police to publish the guidelines for their use, but the police refused to do so. The police were also accused by organisations such as Human Rights Watch of using water cannon vehicles to spray chemical agents that caused a burning sensation on the skin. The incident on 20 October 2019, during a march in Kowloon, in which water cannon vehicles twice sprayed blue-coloured tear-agent water at the Kowloon Mosque when no demonstrators were present, also sparked controversy.
History
Following the 2014 Occupy movement, the police planned to spend HK$27 million to purchase three water cannon vehicles. In January 2018, officials from the Security Bureau told the Legislative Council that the water cannon vehicles were expected to be delivered in the first half of that year and enter service by the end of the year, and that guidelines and training programmes were being drawn up. The water cannon vehicles were procured through Zung Fu. The vehicles used truck chassis manufactured by Mercedes-Benz, with their bodies and equipment fitted by a French specialist vehicle manufacturer. Free West Media cited a report by the French news outlet CNews, stating that in June 2019, French media had made enquiries with Armoric Holding, a local supplier of specialist vehicles. The company's chief executive, Frédéric Louis, confirmed in an interview that its subsidiary vehicle manufacturer, Essonne Sécurité, had received an order from Hong Kong in 2016 to manufacture three riot-control vehicles equipped with water cannons for the Hong Kong Police Force. The contract was worth a total of €2 million, and the three water cannon vehicles had already been delivered.
On 22 May 2018, the first water cannon vehicle arrived by sea at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals that morning. After being unloaded, it was transported to Zung Fu's commercial vehicle maintenance centre in the North District of the New Territories. In June of the same year, the Security Bureau stated in a written reply to a question raised by Legislative Council member Claudia Mo that the remaining two water cannon vehicles were expected to be delivered within that month at the earliest. In January 2019, the then Commissioner of Police, Stephen Lo Wai-chung, said that the police were preparing operational guidelines and relevant training courses for the three water cannon vehicles purchased earlier, drawing on overseas examples. He said that his colleagues had visited France for an exchange in December of the previous year, and that once the guidelines and training courses had been completed, training would be provided for police officers. He also expected the water cannon vehicles to enter service as early as the second quarter of that year. Lo added that the police would later demonstrate the operation of the water cannon vehicles and provide a guided tour for the Independent Police Complaints Council, Legislative Council members and the media.
Road testing and demonstration On 30 July 2019, the water cannon vehicles formally underwent road testing. That morning, signs reading "road test" were placed on the front and rear of the vehicles as they were driven in circles inside the Fanling Police Operations Base. They later left the base and underwent road testing on Castle Peak Road, but did not test-fire water; the water cannons were covered with green cloth. At 1:35 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., the water cannon vehicles twice travelled along Castle Peak Road towards Fanling Highway, passing through Kwu Tung and San Tin, before turning back near Fairview Park to return to the Fanling Police Tactical Unit base for road testing. The first road test lasted about one hour. During the return journey of the second road test, the cloth cover on the left water cannon came loose, exposing a white water-spraying device. The vehicles travelled at an average speed of about 40 km/h throughout the road tests. The three water cannon vehicles were stored at the Fanling Police Tactical Unit base.
On 12 August, the police formally demonstrated the power of the water cannon vehicles to members of the Legislative Council Panel on Security. On the same day, the then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chris Tang, said that the three water cannon vehicles could be deployed at any time, and that the police would use tear gas or water cannon vehicles to disperse crowds depending on operational needs. During the demonstration, the police fired continuous jets of water at distances of 20, 30 and 40 metres. After being hit by the water jets, the mannequins immediately moved about 8 metres backwards.
Specifications
The water cannon vehicles are 8 metres long and 2.55 metres wide, and are equipped with a 6,500-litre water tank and a storage device for tear-agent solution. Each vehicle can be fitted with 15 water cannons of different sizes, including two main cannons mounted on the roof. Each main cannon can discharge 1,200 litres of water per minute, with water pressure reaching 1,000 kPa, and can rotate 360 degrees. The roof-mounted main cannons are controlled from the driver's seat using gun-shaped joysticks. The two cannons were required to be equipped with searchlights, laser rangefinders and video cameras with a minimum illuminance of 0.5 lux, in order to ensure that targets could still be aimed at accurately in dark environments. The water jets discharged by the vehicles have different modes and uses, including different ranges, spraying modes and jet-stream modes. In addition to spraying water, the vehicles can also discharge water mixed with dye or tear agent, and can also spray foam. The vehicles are equipped with an air filtration system to prevent toxic gases from entering the body of the vehicle. They are also fitted with a public address system, which can be used to broadcast police advice, warnings or other messages to protesters. There are also 360-degree video cameras on the left and right sides of the roof of each water cannon vehicle.
Each water cannon vehicle has five seats. When deployed, each vehicle is operated by four police officers: one officer at the rank of station sergeant is responsible for the overall operation of the vehicle; two officers at the rank of sergeant control the two water-spraying devices on the roof; and one police constable is responsible for driving. The remaining seat is kept as a spare seat for contingency use.
As the water tank of each water cannon vehicle has a capacity of 6,500 litres, while the two roof-mounted water cannons alone are each required to discharge at least 1,200 litres of water per minute, Lo Kok-keung, a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the United Kingdom, estimated that the water in the tank would be exhausted within three minutes. He also expected that the vehicles would need to be continuously connected to street hydrants to replenish their water supply while deployed.
According to a report by the Hong Kong Economic Times, footage filmed by City Broadcast showing the interior of a water cannon vehicle indicated that the external cameras of the vehicle were connected in real time to a large screen inside the vehicle. The large screen clearly displayed the rangefinder and a red crosshair, while police officers could use control levers to shift between different angles and targets. The faces of people in the crowd on the street were generally clearly visible, and when vehicles or other objects passed by, or when the angle was slightly adjusted, the rangefinder figures were updated immediately.
Entry into service
On the afternoon of 25 August 2019, a march and rally was held in the Tsuen Wan District and Kwai Tsing District in the New Territories, during the Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi march. Water cannon vehicles were deployed for the first time. At around 6:10 p.m., a water cannon vehicle sprayed water at water-filled barriers on Tai Ho Road in an unsuccessful attempt to clear obstacles, and at around 6:55 p.m. it sprayed water on Texaco Road to disperse protesters.On 31 August, clashes between police and protesters broke out in the Admiralty area. The police deployed water cannon vehicles for the second time and fired water cannons three times, including blue-coloured water on two occasions. This was the first time that water cannon vehicles had discharged blue "coloured water"; during the operation, the vehicles also sprayed water into the air and used a jet-stream mode. On 20 October, while handling protests during the anti-extradition bill movement, the police twice used water cannon vehicles to spray blue-dyed water containing tear agent at the Kowloon Mosque and Islamic Centre, where no protesters were present. The mosque was stained blue, and people outside the mosque were hit; some of them had to go to hospital for medical examination. The incident prompted criticism of the police's actions from various parties.
Newly purchased water cannon vehicles In December 2021, the police spent a further HK$9.9 million to purchase three new water cannon vehicles manufactured by Beijing Anlong Technology Group, using truck chassis produced by China National Heavy Duty Truck Group. The new water cannon vehicles were custom-made according to police requirements and Hong Kong's operating environment, and were therefore smaller than the French-made vehicles.
Rules on use and effects Rules on use