Abuse of police power harms rule of law

Two college students used their phones to video a police officer kicking a suspect when he was unable to open a door on a police car. Because they refused to hand over their phones to the police, the two students were taken by force to a nearby police station, where two police officers slapped their faces and beat their buttocks with batons.

The horrible photos of their bruised and swollen posteriors were widely circulated online. The city's public security department confirmed the next morning that the student's allegations of being beating were true and the police officers concerned are now under investigation.

Police officers are entitled to use force when they or members of the public are under threat. And police officers have the discretionary power to decide whether the threat is immediate or serious enough to justify their using force. But that power arms the police to protect public security, not to bully others.