Tactics employed by the force have led to misconduct allegations and protesters have accused the Hong Kong government of using the police as a method to resolve a "lingering political crisis.

[1] In September 2019, Lam established a panel of foreign experts to work with the IPCC to report on its findings,[10] but several members resigned in November 2019, citing inadequate powers given to the body.

[17] Since then, water cannons laced with blue dye and other skin irritants, projectiles such as beanbags, rubber and sponge-tipped bullets, pepper spray; baton charges and mass arrests, common riot control tactics, have seen increased use.

[3][24] The body lacks credibility with some members of the public as its appointees are predominantly pro-establishment, and a significant number among them are allied with CY Leung, the previous chief executive officer.

Indah, while covering a protest for the Indonesian-language newspaper Suara, lost sight in one eye after being hit by a projectile allegedly fired by a police officer on 29 September 2019 as she was filming.

[27] Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam continued to support the police and refused outright to criticise their conduct, let alone set up an independent judicial inquiry.

[2] More than 30 leaders from across society, notably including former chief justice Andrew Li, have publicly called on the administration to launch an independent inquiry, but this is staunchly opposed by police unions.

There is verifiable footage and witness statements by lawyers, first aiders, and others, all cataloguing the indiscriminate use of crowd control weapons and firearms against protesters and innocent bystanders alike, where individuals who get in the way of police receive a dose in their face.

[4] Subsequent reports by the NGO were based on interviews of protesters who alleged that the police had used excessive violence against them, including being punched and being hit using batons, even in instances with no active resistance.

[48] When the STS squad stormed the Prince Edward station and assaulted the passengers and protesters inside with police batons and pepper spray on 31 August, it was once again accused of using excessive force against unarmed and non-resisting civilians.

[79] In widely circulated video recordings of an alleged assault on 21 September in Yuen Long, an unarmed volunteer from the Protect Our Kids Campaign was arrested and taken to an alley and surrounded by about 30 riot police officers and apparently abused.

[95] A student from Chinese University of Hong Kong accused a male police of hitting her breast during her detention in the San Uk Ling Holding Centre and reported that other detainees "have suffered sexual assaults and torture by more than one officer, regardless of gender".

[106] Underground mobile clinics sprang up, operating out of borrowed cars, which many patients attended, often staffed by junior doctors who wished to remain anonymous, fearing arrest or repercussions from their employers.

On 18 August, the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) held an approved rally at Victoria Park, and went ahead with an unauthorised march, which more than a million people attended.

"[117] Protestors had gathered for a sit-in movement, holding slogans and signs, such as "Stop Hong Kong Police's use of sexual violence", "Don't tell me not to protest, tell them not to violate.

[120] "Some officers use a forcefully grab male protesters by the crotch", two students from the rally stated that the actions of police's sexual misconduct were towards all genders, "This is a combination of both men and women.

Ricky Chu, Watchdog chief has stated that people have officially started to inquire in late June after the spread of the footage of police exposing the private area of a female protestor in a skirt to the press by dragging her on the ground.

Other arrestees have suffered sexual assaults and torture by more than one officer, regardless of gender,"[128] Petition has been signed by more than 8,000 people in CUHK, including professors, staff, students and alumni to support Ng after the conference.

[129] Ng was being harassed after showing her true identity in front of the public, people have been commenting on her personal life, describing her as promiscuous and spreading rumours of her trading sex for money, even being asked directly, "How much do you charge a night?

When she should be heading to the court from the day that she could leave the hospital, Lui was brought to the closest police station and being locked up in a room by two female officers instead, she was told to undress until fully naked for body search for 15 to 30 minutes, as they claimed that she is a criminal.

[134] Ms. Loong has been verbally, visually and physically abused by the officers, such as being called "cockroaches", which has been a derogatory term that polices used to describe protesters and journalists, anyone who they see as anti-government,[135] by the people who are anti-protests, as well as being insulted with a misogynist term, "臭閪", a Cantonese curse, meaning "cunt; a derogatory and highly offensive way to refer to a woman; literally, smelly vagina"[136] Ms. Loong was not allowed to use the restroom for 3 to 4 hours during the arrest, then not be permitted to close the washroom door when she could finally use the toilet, two female polices watched her when she was in the washroom.

The Executive Councillor of the Government of Hong Kong, Fanny Law was on a radio show by RTHK on 9 September 2019, where she has stated that young females are offering free sex to the front line protestors, "We have confirmed that this is a true case.

[150] Police were criticised by pan-democrat legislators for firing teargas at the CITIC Tower from several directions on 12 June, effectively forcing a group of protesters against the building because it was impossible to evacuate.

[161] Deployment of tear gas inside Kwai Fong station on 11 August was condemned by experts, as indoor use may cause a stampede and the concentrated chemicals pose severe health risks without adequate ventilation.

The catalogue of incidents included being obstructed from reporting, pushed, pepper-sprayed, tear-gassed, hit with water cannon, and targeted with strong flashlights, and had their gas masks forcibly removed.

[115] On 20 October 2019, police clearance actions saw blue-dyed water being sprayed on the gates of the Kowloon Mosque, leading to condemnation by CHRF and the Muslim community in Hong Kong.

[210] Several arrestees at a protest on 31 March 2020 were required by police to remove the metal strips from the surgical masks which they wore as a protection against the coronavirus pandemic, saying that these posed a danger.

Pan-democrats also criticised the police for upholding a "double standard" in law enforcement, where they use excessive force to subdue young and often peaceful protesters while showing leniency to violent counter-protesters and even not carry out any arrests against them.

Police officers, they added, need to "obtain swift and full compliance" of an arrested person to guarantee their safety; force is used as a "last resort ... only to achieve a specific purpose".

[236][238] Rights groups and pro democracy parties universally pointed to the lack of independence of the IPCC and the absence of police accountability, and expressed outrage at the report as an absurd and preposterous whitewash.