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August 16, 2005
You could see this one coming miles away
I won't talk about politics frequently here (I'd prefer to talk about subjects on which I have more expertise) but the story of Jean Charles de Menezes bothered me from the beginning.
I'll let the headlines tell it.
Suspected suicide bomber shot dead at London underground station
devolved quickly into
Suspect shot dead 'had no bomb'
and finally to the awful
Shot man not connected to bombing
Met Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair came out with a heartfelt non-apology
Police chief 'sorry' over death
He acknowledged "somebody else could be shot" as the hunt continued, but added "everything is done to make it right". But he said the "shoot to kill" policy for dealing with suspected suicide bombers would remain in force. [Home Secretary Charles Clarke] told the BBC: "I very, very much regret what happened. "I hope [the family] understand the police were trying to do their very best under very difficult circumstances."
I'm glad that the very best the police could do was to pump seven bullets into the head of the wrong man.
Amazingly, everyone started offering non-apologies, even London's mayor Ken Livingstone, a man not exactly known for shirking from controversy.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone described Mr Menezes as a "victim of the terrorist attacks". He said: "Consider the choice that faced police officers at Stockwell last Friday - and be glad you did not have to take it."Tim Hames at the Times of London was one of the few willing to question the police:
Oops, sorry, won't do. We can't just shrug our shoulders over this shooting
The inquiry that is coming out seems to be telling a different story.
It was a catastrophic failure of intelligence - ending in the death of an innocent man mistaken for a suicide bomber.An official inquiry is underway into the fatal shooting of the young Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes - a tragedy shrouded in confusion from the start.
Now tonight, leaked documents and photographs from that report reveal just how badly the police operation may have gone wrong. The leaked draft - obtained by ITV News -shows:
• The day after the July 21st London bomb attacks, at 9.30am, Mr de Menezes left his home - his block watched by police who thought it housed one of the would-be bombers.
• As Jean Charles made his way out, a surveillance officer was apparently relieving himself and couldn't communicate his observations or video him.
• De Menezes continued on his way - boarding a bus to Stockwell Tube Station.
• Gold Command instructed officers that he was to be stopped from entering the tube system. But this apparently didn't happen.
• De Menezes used his electronic card to pass legitimately through the barriers - he did not jump them - and even stopped to pick up a free newspaper.
• He started to run, possibly to catch a train just pulling in - as armed officers received positive identification of their target - and authorisation to shoot to kill.
More at the Times. He wasn't wearing a heavy jacket. He didn't jump the turnstile. He didn't run from the police. This wasn't about an error made in a split second. It was a monstrous bungling of protocol. If one wishes to argue for the necessity of a shoot-to-kill policy, it might help if the people responsible were able to properly identify their suspects.
Tune in tomorrow when Ken Livingstone explains to us how a man whose doctor removed his heart instead of a lung was actually the victim of lung cancer.
Posted by Leigh Witchel at August 16, 2005 5:13 PM
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Posted by: Edward Teague at August 16, 2005 6:19 PM
Let's hope police everywhere learned a lesson from this tradgedy.
Posted by: petipafan at August 16, 2005 6:42 PM
I wonder whether official reaction would have been different if he had been a French or American businessman and not a Brazilian electrician.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 1:17 PM