A video circulating on social media has raised questions about police conduct during a routine vehicle check near the Wariyapola Police Station, after a motorcyclist said officers displayed a firearm while signalling him to stop.
The man said he was riding from Kurunegala towards Padeniya with his daughter at about 1:00 a.m. on August 8 when a group of officers stopped them by showing weapons.
The rider’s account
In the post accompanying the video, he said he was travelling at around 45 kilometres per hour, at most about 50, and was already slowing down and preparing to stop when he saw the signal.
He said he was not particularly frightened himself, but realised his daughter was badly shaken after seeing the weapons.
His stated concern was procedural rather than accusatory. He asked whether it is normal or legally permitted for officers to display weapons when stopping a vehicle for a routine traffic check, noting that such an action could cause a rider to panic and fall from a motorcycle, collide with another vehicle, or become frightened and fail to stop.
“I am not posting this to accuse anyone,” he wrote. “I simply want to know what the proper legal and normal police procedure is in a situation like this.”
Police guidance on vehicle stops
Hiru News reported that the video was among the incidents that prompted senior police to address how roadside checks are carried out.
The Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Traffic and Road Safety Range, W.P.J. Senadheera, has since told officers to stop vehicles openly and in public view rather than concealing themselves, and said interceptions should be conducted transparently at locations such as bus stops, with the officer’s identity and purpose clearly visible. Those directives also followed a separate video allegedly showing an officer accepting a bribe near Dambulla.
