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.
Don't run. Stop, when the Police tell you. It will increase your life expectancy.
I agree with that. If I kept running from the NYPD when they told me to stop I would look like swiss cheese.
I thought he was killed by the Fashion Police for wearing a heavy coat in the summer.
Any word from the media about the guy's religion?
I am still perplexed by this one.
As I understand it, de Menezes came out of an address that was supposedly recovered in one of the would-be-bombers packs. The police had the building under surveillance. The police followed de Menezes, clad in heavy winter clothes, suspicious for the warm weather, for quite a while, albeit, discreetly.
The police said they acted when de Menezes headed for the tube. He jumped a turnstile, and led police on a chase, all the while refusing to halt. His family claims he spoke perfect English, and was not a convert to islam.
This still seems like a very odd situation. Was he "persuaded" to act the way he did under threat to himself or someone near to him? I keep thinking of the man in Pennsylvania who claimed he was forced to rob a bank. The PA man had an explosive collar around his neck that was detonated and the man was killed before police could gather all information.
They were plainclothed officers.
This whole story is just FUBAR. It is sad because we are dealing with a population that is terrified and completely on the edge and a police force that is desperate to perform the nearly impossible task of stopping a terrorist act before it occurs.
A completely innocent man who has nothing to do with terrorists or their filthy religion was killed and that is a tragedy. Meanwhile, the real terrorists are laughing as British cops become reluctant to challange terror suspects for fear of repeating this mistake.
Thanks for a rational statement. My sentiments exactly.
The NYT cover story says pious Roman Catholic.
did the PLAINSCLOTHES police IDENTIFY themselves as police??!! If you were caught in what looks like a terroist situation, and a bunch of guy in street clothes start waving guns, do you just stand there or run? THINK, PEOPLE!
There was no doubt in my mind that they would have shot me if I had tried to run.
"Any word from the media about the guy's religion?"
Is it relevant?
Don't run. Stop, when the Police tell you. It will increase your life expectancy.
They were plainclothed officers.
In downtown London, if you have more than a couple of people with guns (outlawed in England), you can safely assume they are the police. There is no way you could think they were someone else. No other plausible explantation to me.
If there were lots of witnesses -which there were- they'd have had to. If they didn't, multiple people would have said that they didn't.
I do agree though, there has to be more to the story, I just think the guy can't be innocent, unless he's a complete idiot.
Without Darwin's influence we would all (still) be idiots. Very few individuals matter in the grand scheme of things. This one matters less.
I don't think those dots connect. He had been legally living in London for three years and spoke English. Guess the reason will never be known - all else will be speculation. Should be a life lesson for anyone else who thinks to run from the cops during this time.
they have to identify themselves by law. They would have done that. (I hope)
You are the one who needs to think. Normally muggers don't run in packs, they are sinles or at the most 3 people and they are very seldom dressed well. If you see a group of people who are dressed well calling for you to halt, you are the one who better think and think hard before you take off running, especially if you are in an area where the police are trying to track down terrorists.
I do not know why this guy ran but I do know this: Because he ran, he is dead. Also I know this to be true, the real people responsible for this man's death are the terrorists, not the police. With out the suicide bombers setting off bombs this brazilian would not be dead. Lay the blame where it belongs, on the terrorists.
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