Xinhua Insight: Procuratorate backs police in railway station fatal shooting

A procuratorate's investigation into a fatal shooting at a railway station in northeast China has confirmed the legitimacy of the police act following questions from the public.

When police officer Li Lebin shot Xu Chunhe on May 2 at Qing'an County Railway Station in Heilongjiang Province he was acting within the law, according to a statement issued by the railway transport procuratorate of Harbin, the provincial capital.

His use of the firearm conformed with regulations, as well as his responsibilities as a police officer and protector of the peace, the procuratorate's investigation concluded.

The procuratorate's findings are consistent with a previous statement released by the Harbin Railway Police that said the gun had been discharged in the line of duty and Li had not broken any laws or protocols.

Xu, 45, was traveling with Quan Yushun, his 81-year-old mother, and his three children, when he attacked Li and continued to assault the police officer despite multiple warnings, resulting in the fatal shooting, the statement said.

Xu was confirmed dead at the scene by paramedics who arrived at the scene 25 minutes later.

Surveillance footage of the incident was made public on May 14, but despite this, doubts remained over the authenticity of the tape, the legality of Li using the gun and the cause of the altercation.

There was also speculation that the local government had paid "hush money" to Xu's family to silence them.

It has been confirmed that the surveillance footage was original and not edited. The clip that was disseminated to the public by media outlets was taken from the original footage, said Gao Lei, a forensic examiner with the digital forensic center under the Beijing Network Industry Association.

A witness said, on condition of anonymity, that the online brouhaha questioning the authenticity of the video made him very angry.

The tape shows Xu, his mother and three children arriving at the railway station on the morning of May 2, and Xu buying tickets to Dalian, a city in neighboring Liaoning Province. The whole family then went to a nearby restaurant for lunch, before returning to the station and sitting in a waiting room.

At around 12 p.m., Xu can be seen blocking the security check passage with a trolley and closing one of the doors to the waiting room. A security guard called for police assistance and Li responded. Despite various warnings and attempts at persuasion, Xu refused to stop blocking the security passage. When Li opened another door to let passengers in, Xu threw a bottle of water at him.

A struggle followed, during which Xu moved to pull something from his waist. Alerted, Li drew his gun but did not raise it. Confirming that there was no threat, he replaced the gun in its holster.

Observing that the situation was growing more volatile, Li returned to his office to fetch a baton, closely followed by Xu.

As Li attempted to restrain Xu, he met violent resistance. Having tried to grab the baton, Xu pushed his elderly mother into the officer. He then tried to push his daughter toward the officer, knocking the little girl to the ground.

At around 12:06 p.m., officer Li discharged his firearm.

Procurators examined the surveillance footage, interviewed witnesses, collected statements and more than 100 pieces of evidence, said Sun Chengyi, head of the Harbin railway transport procuratorate under the Heilongjiang Provincial People's Procuratorate.

"Officer Li's use of the gun conformed with the regulations and law," Sun said.

This conclusion has been further supported by law experts who watched the footage of the incident.

Li possessed a firearms license and had the duty to safeguard the security of the railway station. He gave oral warnings and used his riot stick before shooting. If he had not opened fire, Xu's violence would have posed a threat to public safety, said professor Yang Zongke with Northwest University of Politics and Law.

A police officer on duty must act with dignity because he represents the authority of the law, said professor Wang Lei with Peking University School of Law.

"If he had not opened fire, he could have been accused of dereliction of duty," Wang said.

THE DRUNKEN XU CHUNHE

Xu's mother, Quan Yushun, told police that he had drunk a glass of liquor and half bottle of beer at lunch. The autopsy confirmed that Xu's blood alcohol level was 1.28, much higher than 0.8, which is classed as "intoxicated".

When asked by the police why Xu blocked the security check passage, Quan said: "There was no reason. Just because he had drunk alcohol and he was not in a good mood."

Xu had three children. His wife was mentally ill.

Quan and her three grandchildren had to resort to begging as Xu was "too lazy" to work, said officials and residents of Fengman Village, Xu's home village.

He liked to drink and often asked for help from his mother once he had spent all his money, they said.

The Harbin railway police gave Xu's family 200,000 yuan after his death.

The money had been saved in a bank account in Quan's name. Quan promised to use the money to support her grandchildren, Wang Shuhua, Fengman Village head said. Endi