London killing of an innocent Brazilian by the cops...
Some new information was leaked to the press regarding
the brutal slaying of Jean Charles de Menezes, the
Brazilian electrician shot 8 times in the head in the
London Underground. Surprise surprise the police lied
to cover up this violent murder. Contrary to what
they told the public
• Menezes did not jump over the ticket barrier
• Menezes made no attempt to run away
• Menezes was held before being shot
Prior to this story I warned people of colour not to
run for trains, buses or whatever now I realize this
was not enough. The lesson learned from this new
information is that lest one come across as a suicide
bomber and get shot in the head, a person of colour
should not under any circumstances engage in the
clearly suspicious behavior of picking up a free
newspaper.
Here is the Guardian Newspaper story on the latest
developments
Rosie Cowan, Duncan Campbell and Vikram Dodd
Wednesday August 17, 2005
The Guardian
The young Brazilian shot dead by police on a London
tube train in mistake for a suicide bomber had already
been overpowered by a surveillance officer before he
was killed, according to secret documents revealed
last night.
It also emerged in the leaked documents that early
allegations that he was running away from police at
the time of the shooting were untrue and that he
appeared unaware that he was being followed.
Relatives and the dead man's legal team expressed
shock and outrage at the revelations. Scotland Yard
has continued to justify a shoot-to-kill policy.
Jean Charles de Menezes died after being shot on a
tube train at Stockwell station in south London on
July 22, the morning after the failed bomb attacks in
London.
But the evidence given to the Independent Police
Complaints Commission (IPCC) by police officers and
eyewitnesses and leaked to ITV News shows that far
from leaping a ticket barrier and fleeing from police,
as was initially reported, he was filmed on CCTV
calmly entering the station and picking up a free
newspaper before boarding the train.
It has now emerged that Mr de Menezes:
· was never properly identified because a police
officer was relieving himself at the very moment he
was leaving his home;
· was unaware he was being followed;
· was not wearing a heavy padded jacket or belt as
reports at the time suggested;
· never ran from the police;
· and did not jump the ticket barrier.
But the revelation that will prove most uncomfortable
for Scotland Yard was that the 27-year-old electrician
had already been restrained by a surveillance officer
before being shot seven times in the head and once in
the shoulder.
The documents reveal that a member of the surveillance
team, who sat nearby, grabbed Mr de Menezes before he
was shot: "I heard shouting which included the word
'police' and turned to face the male in the denim
jacket.
"He immediately stood up and advanced towards me and
the CO19 [firearms squad] officers ... I grabbed the
male in the denim jacket by wrapping both my arms
around his torso, pinning his arms to his side. I then
pushed him back on to the seat where he had been
previously sitting ... I then heard a gun shot very
close to my left ear and was dragged away on to the
floor of the carriage."
The leaked documents and pictures showed the failures
in the police operation from the time Mr de Menezes
left home.
A surveillance officer admitted in a witness statement
that he was unable to positively identify Mr de
Menezes as a suspect because the officer had been
relieving himself when the Brazilian left the block of
flats where he lived.
The police were on a high state of alert because of
the July 7 and July 21 bombings, and had been briefed
that they may be called upon to carry out new tactics
- shooting dead suspected suicide bombers in order to
avoid another atrocity.
The IPCC investigation report states that the firearms
unit had been told that "unusual tactics" might be
required and if they "were deployed to intercept a
subject and there was an opportunity to challenge, but
if the subject was non-compliant, a critical shot may
be taken".
But it now appears, that contrary to earlier claims,
Mr de Menezes was oblivious to the stakeout operation.
On the morning of July 22, police officers were in
Scotia Road, Tulse Hill, watching a property they
believed contained one or more of the would-be bombers
who had tried to detonate four bombs on London
transport less than 24 hours before.
One firearms officer is quoted as saying: "The current
strategy around the address was as follows: no subject
coming out of the address would be allowed to run and
that an interception should take place as soon as
possible away from the address trying not to
compromise it."
But the report shows that there was a failure in the
surveillance operation and officers wrongly believed
Mr de Menezes could have been one of two suspects.
The leaked papers state: "De Menezes was observed
walking to a bus stop and then boarded a bus,
travelling to Stockwell tube station.
"During the course of this, his description and
demeanour was assessed and it was believed he matched
the identity of one of the suspected wanted for
terrorist offences ... the information was passed
through the operations centre and gold command made
the decision and gave appropriate instructions that de
Menezes was to be prevented from entering the tube
system. At this stage the operation moved to code red
tactic, responsibility was handed over to CO19."
CCTV footage shows Mr de Menezes was not wearing a
padded jacket, as originally claimed, and that he
walked calmly through the barriers at Stockwell
station, collecting a free newspaper before going down
the escalator. Only then did he run to catch the
train.
A man sitting opposite him is quoted as saying:
"Within a few seconds I saw a man coming into the
double doors to my left. He was pointing a small black
handgun towards a person sitting opposite me. He
pointed the gun at the right hand side of the man's
head. The gun was within 12 inches of the man's head
when the first shot was fired."
A senior police source last night told the Guardian
that the leaked documents and statements gave an
accurate picture of what was known so far about the
shooting. But the IPCC refused to confirm the
documents were genuine adding: "Our priority is to
disclose any findings direct to the family, who will
clearly be distressed that they have received
information on television concerning his death."
The home secretary, Charles Clarke, said: "It is
critically important for the integrity of the
independent police investigating process that no
pressure is put upon the IPCC before their full report
is published and that no comment is made until that
time."
Harriet Wistrich, lawyer for the family, said: "There
is incompetence on the part of those watching the
suspect and a serious breakdown of communication."
Asad Rehman, spokesman for the family's campaign,
called for a public inquiry. "This was not an
accident," he said. "It was serious neglect. Clearly,
there was a failure both in police intelligence and on
an operational level."
the brutal slaying of Jean Charles de Menezes, the
Brazilian electrician shot 8 times in the head in the
London Underground. Surprise surprise the police lied
to cover up this violent murder. Contrary to what
they told the public
• Menezes did not jump over the ticket barrier
• Menezes made no attempt to run away
• Menezes was held before being shot
Prior to this story I warned people of colour not to
run for trains, buses or whatever now I realize this
was not enough. The lesson learned from this new
information is that lest one come across as a suicide
bomber and get shot in the head, a person of colour
should not under any circumstances engage in the
clearly suspicious behavior of picking up a free
newspaper.
Here is the Guardian Newspaper story on the latest
developments
Rosie Cowan, Duncan Campbell and Vikram Dodd
Wednesday August 17, 2005
The Guardian
The young Brazilian shot dead by police on a London
tube train in mistake for a suicide bomber had already
been overpowered by a surveillance officer before he
was killed, according to secret documents revealed
last night.
It also emerged in the leaked documents that early
allegations that he was running away from police at
the time of the shooting were untrue and that he
appeared unaware that he was being followed.
Relatives and the dead man's legal team expressed
shock and outrage at the revelations. Scotland Yard
has continued to justify a shoot-to-kill policy.
Jean Charles de Menezes died after being shot on a
tube train at Stockwell station in south London on
July 22, the morning after the failed bomb attacks in
London.
But the evidence given to the Independent Police
Complaints Commission (IPCC) by police officers and
eyewitnesses and leaked to ITV News shows that far
from leaping a ticket barrier and fleeing from police,
as was initially reported, he was filmed on CCTV
calmly entering the station and picking up a free
newspaper before boarding the train.
It has now emerged that Mr de Menezes:
· was never properly identified because a police
officer was relieving himself at the very moment he
was leaving his home;
· was unaware he was being followed;
· was not wearing a heavy padded jacket or belt as
reports at the time suggested;
· never ran from the police;
· and did not jump the ticket barrier.
But the revelation that will prove most uncomfortable
for Scotland Yard was that the 27-year-old electrician
had already been restrained by a surveillance officer
before being shot seven times in the head and once in
the shoulder.
The documents reveal that a member of the surveillance
team, who sat nearby, grabbed Mr de Menezes before he
was shot: "I heard shouting which included the word
'police' and turned to face the male in the denim
jacket.
"He immediately stood up and advanced towards me and
the CO19 [firearms squad] officers ... I grabbed the
male in the denim jacket by wrapping both my arms
around his torso, pinning his arms to his side. I then
pushed him back on to the seat where he had been
previously sitting ... I then heard a gun shot very
close to my left ear and was dragged away on to the
floor of the carriage."
The leaked documents and pictures showed the failures
in the police operation from the time Mr de Menezes
left home.
A surveillance officer admitted in a witness statement
that he was unable to positively identify Mr de
Menezes as a suspect because the officer had been
relieving himself when the Brazilian left the block of
flats where he lived.
The police were on a high state of alert because of
the July 7 and July 21 bombings, and had been briefed
that they may be called upon to carry out new tactics
- shooting dead suspected suicide bombers in order to
avoid another atrocity.
The IPCC investigation report states that the firearms
unit had been told that "unusual tactics" might be
required and if they "were deployed to intercept a
subject and there was an opportunity to challenge, but
if the subject was non-compliant, a critical shot may
be taken".
But it now appears, that contrary to earlier claims,
Mr de Menezes was oblivious to the stakeout operation.
On the morning of July 22, police officers were in
Scotia Road, Tulse Hill, watching a property they
believed contained one or more of the would-be bombers
who had tried to detonate four bombs on London
transport less than 24 hours before.
One firearms officer is quoted as saying: "The current
strategy around the address was as follows: no subject
coming out of the address would be allowed to run and
that an interception should take place as soon as
possible away from the address trying not to
compromise it."
But the report shows that there was a failure in the
surveillance operation and officers wrongly believed
Mr de Menezes could have been one of two suspects.
The leaked papers state: "De Menezes was observed
walking to a bus stop and then boarded a bus,
travelling to Stockwell tube station.
"During the course of this, his description and
demeanour was assessed and it was believed he matched
the identity of one of the suspected wanted for
terrorist offences ... the information was passed
through the operations centre and gold command made
the decision and gave appropriate instructions that de
Menezes was to be prevented from entering the tube
system. At this stage the operation moved to code red
tactic, responsibility was handed over to CO19."
CCTV footage shows Mr de Menezes was not wearing a
padded jacket, as originally claimed, and that he
walked calmly through the barriers at Stockwell
station, collecting a free newspaper before going down
the escalator. Only then did he run to catch the
train.
A man sitting opposite him is quoted as saying:
"Within a few seconds I saw a man coming into the
double doors to my left. He was pointing a small black
handgun towards a person sitting opposite me. He
pointed the gun at the right hand side of the man's
head. The gun was within 12 inches of the man's head
when the first shot was fired."
A senior police source last night told the Guardian
that the leaked documents and statements gave an
accurate picture of what was known so far about the
shooting. But the IPCC refused to confirm the
documents were genuine adding: "Our priority is to
disclose any findings direct to the family, who will
clearly be distressed that they have received
information on television concerning his death."
The home secretary, Charles Clarke, said: "It is
critically important for the integrity of the
independent police investigating process that no
pressure is put upon the IPCC before their full report
is published and that no comment is made until that
time."
Harriet Wistrich, lawyer for the family, said: "There
is incompetence on the part of those watching the
suspect and a serious breakdown of communication."
Asad Rehman, spokesman for the family's campaign,
called for a public inquiry. "This was not an
accident," he said. "It was serious neglect. Clearly,
there was a failure both in police intelligence and on
an operational level."