Posted on 07/24/2005 6:11:57 AM PDT by areafiftyone
Met Police chief Sir Ian Blair has apologised to the family of the Brazilian man shot dead by police in south London on Friday.
He said the death of Jean Charles de Menezes was a "tragedy", but admitted more people could be shot as police hunt suspected suicide bombers.
The 27-year-old electrician's family condemned the shooting and said there was no reason to suspect him.
Brazil's foreign minister said his country was "shocked" by the shooting.
Scotland Yard confirmed on Saturday that Mr Menezes, who lived in Brixton, south London, was completely unconnected to Thursday's attempted bombings on three Tube trains and a bus.
Two men have been arrested and are still being questioned.
Police carried out controlled explosions on Sunday on a suspect package found in north-west London which may be linked to the failed attacks.
Armed officers' dilemma
Speaking on Sky News, Sir Ian said: "This is a tragedy. The Metropolitan Police accepts full responsibility for this. To the family I can only express my deep regrets."
He said there was no reason the believe the four men sought over the failed bombings - whose images caught on CCTV were released on Friday - had left the country.
He acknowledged that "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.
"There is no point in shooting at someone's chest because that is where the bomb is likely to be," he said.
"There is no point in shooting anywhere else if they fall down and detonate it."
'Tragedy'
Mr Menezes's family is struggling to come to terms with the circumstances surrounding Mr Menezes' death.
JEAN CHARLES DE MENEZES
Born 07/01/78, a Brazilian national
Originally from the city of Gonzaga, 500 miles northeast of Sao Paulo in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais in Brazil
Lived in Brixton, London for three years, working as an electrician
Family mourn police victim
His cousin, Alex Alves Pereira, from London, told the BBC: "Apologies are not enough. I believe my cousin's death was result of police incompetence."
Describing his cousin as a "person full of life" he said his cousin was "a victim of government's mistakes".
He said Mr Menezes was from the city of Gonzaga in Minas Gerais state and had lived in London legally for over three years.
Mr Menezes' grandmother, Zilda Ambrosia de Figueiredo, told Globo TV "there was no reason to think he was a terrorist".
'Shocked and perplexed'
Brazil's foreign minister Celso Amorim met officials at the Foreign Office in London on Sunday to seek an explanation for the shooting.
"The Brazilian government and the public are shocked and perplexed that a peaceful and innocent person should have been killed," he said.
"Brazil is totally in solidarity with Britain in the fight against terror but people should be cautious to avoid the loss of innocent life."
He said he spoke by phone with foreign secretary Jack Straw, who promised a full investigation into the death.
"I said that was very important. We can't recover the life of the Brazilian citizen who has been killed, but we can discover the details."
Mr Amorim is due to meet Mr Straw in person on Monday evening.
The BBC's correspondent in Brazil, Tom Gibb, said Mr Menezes had lived for a time in a slum district of Sao Paulo and that could explain why he had run from the police.
He said: "The murder rates in some of these slums are worse than in a lot of war zones and that could explain why, when plain clothes officers pulled a gun on him, he may have run away."
The shooting is being investigated by officers from Scotland Yard's Directorate of Professional Standards, and will be referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Government minister Peter Hain said the threat of suicide bombings had put police under "enormous pressure", but added that they were acting responsibly.
Suspicious package
Searches are continuing in the area where a package was found by a member of the public in bushes in Little Wormwood Scrubs on Saturday.
The package has been removed for forensic examination after several controlled explosions.
Officers raided a house in Streatham on Saturday Anti-Terrorist Branch head DAC Peter Clarke said: "The object appears to have been left in the bushes, rather than hidden. I would urge the public to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious items or activity."
Officers are also still searching an address raided on Saturday in Streatham Hill, south London, in connection with the failed attacks.
Meanwhile the News of the World newspaper has offered a £100,000 reward to catch the second wave of London bombers.
Thank you!
The plain clothes cops could have looked like thugs with long hair sporting tattoos. We just don't have enough information.
I agree. He came out of a house that was under surveillance, he was wearing a heavy jacket in hot weather, and he was running into the subway where several other suicide bombings and attempted bombings had just recently happened.
The police had plenty of reasons to think he was a suicide bomber. Even if he had stopped, with all that has happened, he still might have been shot.
This statement makes no sense at all.
Sherlock Holmes is thinking right now and Watson is pacing...throwing out what ifs.
"The next thing I saw was this guy jump over the barriers and the police officers were chasing after him and everyone was just shouting ’get out, get out"’.
Rest of the article here
Also widely reported on television news broadcasts. You must have missed it. Or didn't let it through your particular and peculiar filters.
You're not trying to bring reason to this thread, are you????
Agree entirely. Sympathies must go out to both the family of the dead man and also to the policeman who fired the shots - he must be feeling terrible.
So was Guy Fawkes.
I just did a search. stop in Portuguese is "batente". In Spanish it's "parada"
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Hmmm...I guess I misunderstand my Brazilian wife when she says, "pare!" to me. LOL.
Suppose the guy did have a bomb under his heavy coat. Suppose the cops did the politically correct thing when he failed to stop, and just watched as the train pulled out of the station. Suppose 20 seconds later, a dozen or more innocent people lay dead in the smoking rubble of that train, with many more injured.
How many people today would be praising the cops for their careful and reasoned response, and for protecting the rights of the terrorist?
The police were caught in the classic "d*mned if you do, d*mned if you don't" situation. I still maintain this guy might not have been entirely innocent. (An electrician...and the bombers needed expertise/supplies for wiring their bombs...hmmm....)
No apology should be made by the police, unless it's in the nature of "we're sorry he didn't obey our orders to stop."
You obviously know more about the facts than I do. Thanks for the inside information.
Considering his actions, I believe he was on a suicide mission to make the police look bad. He was followed from a terrorist safe house wearing a heavy coat on a hot day. He ran. SETUP!
Just about everyone is born Catholic in Brazil. But there is a large Muslim population in Sao Paulo (29,000)....They demonstrated anti-USA after 9-11 and also after we went to Afghanistan.
Oh yeah, that would be real smart with a guy acting just like the Palestinian suicide bombers, and dressed in a heavy coat, just like the Palestinian suicide bombers, and coming out of a house that is under surveillance. Just sit in the guy while he dentonates and blows up you, your buddies, and possibly dozens of innocent civilians who are in the tube station.
On the words. "Stop. Armed police", the guy who runs is known as "the suspect". If police then tell everyone to clear the area, his status does not change.
"The Man Who Knew Too Much"??
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