Chinese police officer knocks down woman and child over parking dispute

Screengrab of the police officer knocking down the woman with her child beside her.

BEIJING: A video of a police officer in Shanghai knocking down a woman and her child to the ground has generated mixed reaction in China over how much force authorities should be able to use against citizens. 
​
According to reports, a police officer was carrying out checks for illegal parking on Friday (Sep 1) morning when a woman started arguing with him over a parking fine. 

The video shows the woman, with a toddler in one arm, confronting the police officer by pushing him in the chest several times.

At the 22-second mark of the video, a colleague comes out from a police vehicle before the first officer tackles the woman to the ground along with her child, who falls out from her arm. 
A passer-by is seen immediately running to tend to the toddler who burst out crying after falling. 

According to the New York Times, Weibo users were split on their reactions towards the viral video which was shared and watched by millions.

Some condemned the physical force towards the child, with one user saying: "How much of a threat to the safety of a police officer could come from a woman clutching a child ... Even if there was some issue or dispute, that was no reason to slam the child to the ground."

Others chided the woman instead, saying she was responsible for the altercation. 

"Simply put, this is the upshot of poor rule of law," said another Weibo user. "This troublemaker believed that the police wouldn’t take her on and acted with reckless abandon."

Local Chinese news outlet People's Daily reported that the local police bureau issued a statement later on the same day, saying the officer has been suspended pending further investigation.