Jakarta – Jakarta Police conducted a joint riot control exercise with the National Police on Monday in the wake of a gang brawl last week that killed three people. But some activists were skeptical about the police's commitment in handling such incidents.

More than 700 police officers, including 139 National Police officers, participated in the drill on a field at City Police headquarters.

"We are conducting this exercise in anticipation of any anarchic actions, such as the one that occurred on Jl. Ampera," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said.

Dozens of rival gang members from Flores and Ambon fought with machetes, blades, homemade guns and rocks outside the South Jakarta District Court on Jl. Ampera Raya, South Jakarta, on Wednesday. Three people were killed in the melee and 12 injured, including three police officers.

During the exercise, the police did not hesitate to take strict action against the mock perpetrators, particularly those carrying firearms and sharp weapons to prevent riots.

In a scenario similar to the Ampera clash, riot troops fired warning shots and tear gas. Officers fired shots at the legs of "armed" culprits to paralyze them and medical teams immediately evacuated the injured.

The exercise stood in stark contrast to the Ampera brawl, when more than 500 police officers failed to contain the violence.

Jakarta Police chief Comr. Gen. Timur Pradopo, who was nominated to be the next National Police chief on Monday, said that the police should be extremely careful when handling such incidents. "If we used our power, the public would perceive us as violating human rights," he said.

Haris Azhar from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said that the police's failure to protect citizens and ensure security during the Ampera brawl violated the public's right to security.

"The police should be able to act firmly in handling such clashes by disabling culprits and instead of taking a lethal action against them. By doing so, the police would not violate human rights," he told The Jakarta Post.

Indonesian Police Watch chairman Neta S. Pane said he believed that the police allowed the clash break out and did nothing to stop it.

"This definitely is a conflict of interest. Why do the police act so hard against terrorists but are scared when facing thugs? It is a common knowledge that some police nurture thugs," he said.

He said the police should follow standard operating procedures to prevent riots. "First, the police should deploy riot units with riot shields and batons. In the second step, they should use tear gas followed by water canons. Then, they might use plastic bullets," he said.

He said that officers should use firearms only if the situation worsened and the perpetrators used firearms. "Clearly, a warning shot or a shot in the leg is enough to stop a culprit," he said.

The police have been criticized for failing to secure violent incidents, such as the Koja incident in April and the riots in Rempoa, South Jakarta, in late July. (ipa)