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Police Chief 'Sorry' Over Death (Picture of Brazilian)( 100,000 pound reward set to catch bombers!)
BBC News ^ | 7/24/05

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.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; United Kingdom
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To: Puppet

I did another search and "pare" in Portuguese translates to "it stops"


121 posted on 07/24/2005 10:43:03 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: areafiftyone

From ORBAT.

..Which leaves us with the question: why did he run when police told him to stop? He was ordered to stop as he crossed a main street, but ran into the subway station, vaulted security barriers and ticket turnstiles, and kept running till he got onto a waiting train and was killed.

Remember the foiled Ricin attacks, what if this man was carrying something that has prompted the British govt to take the hit on a wrong killing, to preserve public peace and not create panic.

I think the killing as a mistake is a cover story. The ramifications of even a foiled WMD attack would be tremendous. That's why the shots to the head after the guy RAN away.


122 posted on 07/24/2005 11:40:15 AM PDT by swarthyguy
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To: McGavin999

Different situation! A suicide bomber is RUNNING AWAY! The police have him under surveillance SINCE he left the neighborhood and DON'T attempt to stop him until he gets to a crowd? And the police now say he had nothing to do with the bombings. I'm not drinking Kool-Aid or filtering, my BS meter just went to the warning level.


123 posted on 07/24/2005 12:00:52 PM PDT by Clock King
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To: calex59
calex59 said: "I do not know why this guy ran but I do know this: Because he ran, he is dead. "

Given the circumstances, I am convinced that that is not so. If the suspect had halted as ordered, I believe that he would have been tackled, taken to the ground, sat upon, and five shots would have been fired into his head. I believe this because that is the stated policy and tactics of the authorities.

124 posted on 07/24/2005 12:05:27 PM PDT by William Tell
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To: Clock King
He was being tailed, he ran INTO the station and they caught up with him IN the station. That's how surveillence works.

You can blame the cops if you want, you can claim you would react differently, but it all means squat. They did what they did because it was the right thing to do at the time. Hindsight is always 20-20.

125 posted on 07/24/2005 12:07:13 PM PDT by McGavin999
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To: Clock King

I notice you didn't have much to say once I provided proof for what I wrote. No matter. Now you're yammering about a suicide bomber "running away." In your zeal to tar and feather the Brit police, you leave out the point that where he's running TO is where all the people are, where a suicide bomber can do the most damage.


126 posted on 07/24/2005 1:47:05 PM PDT by MizSterious (Now, if only we could convince them all to put on their bomb-vests and meet in Mecca...)
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To: Clock King
And good police training means they didn't shoot an unarmed man when they had overwhelming force and had you surrounded. There are enough of them to just sit on you.

And if the suspect that the police are sitting on is believed to have a bomb on him or in his backpack, and the suspect won't keep his hands away from his body, what should the police do then?

127 posted on 07/24/2005 2:15:08 PM PDT by judgeandjury
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To: areafiftyone
and so would the surrounding area.
128 posted on 07/24/2005 2:17:31 PM PDT by NY Attitude (You are responsible for your safety until the arrival of Law Enforcement Officers!)
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To: areafiftyone
A tragic chain of events.

I do wonder however when Springsteen is going to make up a song about it.

129 posted on 07/24/2005 2:20:45 PM PDT by mware ("God is dead" -- Nietzsch"....... "Nope, you are"-- GOD)
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To: MizSterious

So, he couldn't do damage on a street full of people?


130 posted on 07/24/2005 2:34:24 PM PDT by Clock King
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To: judgeandjury
and the suspect won't keep his hands away from his body, what should the police do then?

Incapacitating shot. They got close enough to trip him and shot the head 5 times, they could've pumped his lungs, legs, arms, neck full of lead.

131 posted on 07/24/2005 2:36:48 PM PDT by Clock King
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To: Clock King
The only shots guaranteed to drop a perp are:

Brain
Spine
Heart
Long bones of the legs

Shooting in the lungs, and neck would be just as lethal, with the added bonus that to get to the lungs one would need to fire through a potential strap on bomb, risking setting it off and killing him and anyone in range of the shrapnel.

Shooting in the legs does not prevent a terrorist from setting off a bomb. It might make him mad enough to do it on the spot.

I gather you are from the school of thought that always blames the cops for not 'shooting the gun out of his hands'.

IOW, you've never actually fired a gun, have you?
132 posted on 07/24/2005 2:57:46 PM PDT by null and void (Q: What did the terrorist say to the Bobby? A: Gimme five!)
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To: Clock King

Clock, give it up. You're way wrong on this one. Yes, there were some people on the street--but a bomb would do the most harm in an enclosed place, such as a bus or a train--and these are often crowded.


133 posted on 07/24/2005 3:16:42 PM PDT by MizSterious (Now, if only we could convince them all to put on their bomb-vests and meet in Mecca...)
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To: null and void

LOL--or hurting the hand if they DID shoot the gun out of it, no doubt!


134 posted on 07/24/2005 3:17:32 PM PDT by MizSterious (Now, if only we could convince them all to put on their bomb-vests and meet in Mecca...)
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To: areafiftyone

Apparently they weren't taking the British cops seriously until this. Or did they think the shoot to kill rule was a suggestion.


135 posted on 07/24/2005 3:18:57 PM PDT by marty60
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To: areafiftyone

Apparently they weren't taking the British cops seriously until this. Or did they think the shoot to kill rule was a suggestion.


136 posted on 07/24/2005 3:18:58 PM PDT by marty60
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To: areafiftyone

This man is no different from one who points an empty gun at police. Innocent victim NOT.


137 posted on 07/24/2005 8:33:10 PM PDT by Tax Government (Put down the judicial insurrection. Contribute to FR.)
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To: Drew68

How do we know he is innocent? Maybe he runs materials for terrorists.


138 posted on 07/24/2005 10:14:06 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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To: MizSterious

I am sure there are thousands of non-moslem useful idiots willing to aid them.


139 posted on 07/24/2005 10:16:53 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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To: proud American in Canada

Where is Mi5 in all this? Was it their intelligence that lead police on the hunt?


140 posted on 07/24/2005 10:20:10 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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