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.
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.
Even though I believe Brazilians speak Portugese as their primary language, you'd expect him to understand "STOP" in English.
Uh huh. Right. Pull my finger. Has it every happened to them yet?
This man is another victim of muslim terriorist regardless of who pulled the trigger. To blame the British police, whether in full uniform or undercover, is a politically correct rule no longer in force when the enemy launches a killing spree in your town.
We need this this type of preventative measure and enforcement attitude in this country soon and before, not after the act.
Yup.
Heathrow 1 year after 9-11.
Lost a (forgotten, small) pocketknife and threatened with jail.
No complaints... funny "how could I be so dumb" story.
Canard ~ Is it relevant?
Only to anyone who isn't brain dead, or hasn't been asleep for 4 or five years.
Me? I'm awake and filled with a terrible resolve.
Since 'canard' is french for 'joke'...
I'm not going to be so quick to say he was totally innocent. Why did he jump the turnstile; why wouldn't he stop when they told him to; why act like a suspect if you're not? And what was he doing at the address being watched?
You know, not everyone in the suicide bombing business is Muslim or Arab. They have to get supplies from someone, for instance. As an electrician, could this guy have been a supplier of some of the things needed to make, and wire, a bomb? Maybe his motivation was money, not ideology.
Brazil's foreign minister said his country was "shocked" by the shooting.
We already know this guy wasn't a came out of a terrorist safe house, hence my question.
I want to know why he ran. That makes me very suspicious of this guy.
As I said previously, if the guy had been a terrorist it might have been relevant. As we already know he had no link with terrorism, I couldn't see the relevance.
Your language skills could do with a brush up as well, 'canard' is French for 'duck'...
They said he spoke good English.
When in Rome die do as the Romans do...
Oh, please. He'd lived in the UK long enough to know the difference between the UK and Brasil.
Her?
Profile if we must, but get the damn facts straight, first.
I want to make it clear that I am not blaming the British Officers. What I am trying to do is understand why Jean Charles fled.
I experienced several years of Noriega and his goons and know what can happen if one didn’t try and flee even after they yelled “alto” (halt). But, Panama is not Brazil; therefore, I don’t know how things are in Brazil. Definitely, though, Panama and Brazil are not US and Britain.
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police says that this guy had no links to the terror cells, I see no reason to dispute that.
I think you overstate things by saying he was seen coming out of a 'terrorist safe house'. He came out of a block of flats that contained an appartment that was under suspicion.
While you push the button...
Jackass ran in a war zone.
If this guy ran from the police, he should have been shot. End of story.
It's like on our TV reality shows when the police go through a five-minute, foot-pounding, heavy-breathing chase through back yards and over fences:
"Why did you run, man?"
"I wuz scairt!"
Stupid is as stupid does.
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