Negative sentiment against the police has been re-energized only weeks after the force was hit by its worst scandal in decades, in which scores of police officers were suspected of trying to cover up the brutal murder of a junior police officer by the head of the force’s very own internal affairs division.

The institution is once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

“No one would say that this was a simple incident. We assert the need for police reform, as the Kanjuruhan tragedy only shows the security apparatus’ tendency for violence”, said Daniel Siagian of the Malang Legal Aid Institute (LBH), which is conducting its own investigation into the tragedy.

Read also: Tear gas, locked gates led to Kanjuruhan soccer stampede

 Normalized violence

Malang LBH’s investigation found that most of the fatalities occurred in the southern end of the stadium, where police fired tear gas directly into the stands. A witness to the events, identified only as U, gave an account of what he had seen during a press conference.

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