Brazilian was shot eight times, inquest told

Inquiry by police complaints authority to look at all ranks involved, including those who gave orders

Mark Honigsbaum and Vikram Dodd
Tuesday July 26, 2005
The Guardian

Jean Charles de Menezes, the innocent Brazilian man killed by police after being mistaken for a suicide bomber, was shot eight times at Stockwell Tube station on Friday, not five times as had previously been reported.

The details of the number of rounds emptied into the 27-year-old Brazilian electrician after his pursuit through Stockwell station by an armed plainclothes squad emerged at the opening of an inquest into his death yesterday.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission also began an inquiry into the shooting yesterday.

The commission's chairman, Nick Hardwick, told the Guardian the investigation would look at "officers of all ranks", potentially including those who authorised special shoot-to-kill tactics against suicide bombers.

(How about who actually did the shooting, and what CCTV footage shows?)

Mr Hardwick said: "It would be wrong to look at people [just] on the frontline, you have to look at who gave the orders and who is in the chain of command."

He added he was confident of getting access to all police documents and personnel involved.

(How about the surveillance footage? Was anyone outside the London Police Service involved in the shooting?)

Southwark coroner's court heard that Mr De Menezes, who arrived in Britain three years ago on a student visa, had been on the way to a job in Kilburn, north-west London, when he was challenged and pursued by armed police. He was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder.

(After he had already been apprehended, and was prone on the ground.)

Witnesses to the shooting last Friday spoke of hearing five shots.

The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, had initially said the shooting was "directly linked" to anti-terror operations. But detectives later established he was not connected to attempts to blow up three underground trains and a bus in the capital the day before.

(Or more accurately, leave behind "evidence" which would then be used to point investigators in a specific direction, potentially one of the PNAC military targets.)

At a Downing Street news conference yesterday Tony Blair said he was "desperately sorry" for the death of Mr De Menezes but that police were working in very difficult circumstances.

"I think it is important that we give them every support and that we understand that had the circumstances been different and, for example, this had turned out to be a terrorist and they had failed to take that action, they would have been criticised the other way," he said.

(But he was an innocent man, so your words fall a bit flat here. I refer you to the "Talking Points" post, lower down on the Newswire.)

"At the same time therefore, in expressing our sorrow and deep sympathy for the death that has happened, it is important that we allow the police and support them in doing the job they have to do in order to protect people in this country."

The prime minister's apology came amid conflicting reports on whether Mr De Menezes' student visa, which allows people to work for a small number of hours, had expired, hence his failure to stop when challenged by police. The Home Office said it was unable to comment on the claims, which were reported by the BBC yesterday and attributed to security sources. Normally, a student visa would expire within two years.

(Again I refer you to "Talking Points". The victim is not the bad guy here.)

Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights organisation Liberty, said she was "disgusted" by the suggestion that someone's immigration status might have any relevance to the value of their life, adding that Liberty had been at pains to reserve judgment on the Stockwell shooting pending the outcome of an independent investigation.

Her comments came as Mr De Menezes' family said they may sue over this death.

(Which I hope they will, because it will force the police services to PROVE their version of events.)

Asked if he would take legal action Mr De Menezes cousin, Alex Pereira, told BBC Breakfast: "They have to pay for that in many ways, because if they do not, they are going to kill many people, they are going to kill thousands of people. They killed my cousin, they could kill anyone."

Under Operation Kratos - the special tactics developed by police to tackle the threat of suicide bombers - a senior officer is on standby 24 hours a day to authorise the deployment of special armed squads, who will track and, if needs be, shoot dead suspected suicide bombers. One of the most senior officers involved in protecting London confirmed there were teams of armed officers ready to be deployed.

(Allegedly. Their story has yet to be proven.)

Mr De Menezes had emerged from a house (See "Talking Points". This was not a 'house', it was an apartment block.) in Tulse Hill, south London, that was under surveillance because of a suspected link to Thursday's failed bomb attacks. He was tailed by an undercover squad as he travelled two miles by bus to Stockwell tube.

(Allegedly.)

According to police, their suspicions were aroused because Mr De Menezes was wearing a bulky jacket, thought to be too heavy for the time of year.

(They had also said that he had wires protruding from his jacket, but that part of the story was later retracted.)

Witnesses reported that when challenged he jumped over the ticket barriers and bolted down an escalator, looking like a "petrified rabbit".

(Running from unidentified men, armed with automatic weapons. This reaction furthers the idea that he had witnessed something that they did not want him talking about.)

In Brazil, a cousin of Mr De Menezes, Maria do Socorro, said she thought the police had acted "like amateurs".

(Or intelligence professionals, attempting to silence a potential witness who could potentially blow this op wide open.)

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "If you are going to have a war on terror, you have got to use brains to fight it not just brute force."

(Only that there is no "War on Terror". It is simply a smokescreen for the agenda of widespread and open-ended Aggression being pursued by the Extremists and Neo-Fascists who have seized power.)