Today sees the opening of the Inquest into the death of Jean Charles De Menezes, the Brazilian electrician who was shot dead by special officers in the wake of the failed 21/7 bombings in London.
After all the cover ups regarding the David Kelly death, the legal decision for Britain to go to war in Iraq and others, do we really expect anything of use to come of this inquest? Should there be some sort of retribution for the neglect and incompetence that led to Mr. De Menezes death in any case?
In Favour of the Police
It has been argued the the UK was in a state of high alert after the bungled attempt by would-be Terrorists to again bomb the Tube Network on 21 July 2005. Mr De Menezes had been living at a block of flats which were under surveillance by undercover officers who believed one of the terrorists was indeed hiding on the premises.
Mr De Menezes, with his South American looks, was mistakenly identified as the terrorist in question and this was not corroborated by video as the person holding the camera was taking a 'comfort break'. From there a whole series of events went unchecked before Mr. De Menezes was finally shot while boarding a tube at Stockwell Station by two specially trained firearms officers acting under orders.
With the nation and authorities in a state of high alert, Mr. De Menezes was an unfortunate victim in the war against terror.
The Case Against
Chalk one up to the Terrorists after all, without even firing a shot or letting off a bomb. Britain throws caution to the wind and gun-toting, trigger-happy officers kill a man in cold blood in front of the public.
Reality and Myth
In the Independent Police Report several myths and pieces of disinformation were reviewed and explained and the worrying issue of a police cover up was raised. In fact all the officers who were to be named in the Report got lawyers paid for by public money and got an injunction against any of their names being mentioned. In the fall out, the police have shuffled shoulder to shoulder offering just one sacrificial lamb since the Report who was fired.
- At the time we all believed what we were told. Mr. De Menezes was behaving in an odd manner having boarded a bus to a tube station, got off and immediately got back on the bus to ride to Stockwell Tube. A cursory glance would have revealed what most saw, the tube station at which he originally disembarked was closed so he immediately got back on the bus.
- He was wearing a padded jacket. In fact it was a warm day and Mr. De Menezes was not wearing a jacket and indeed did not have the appearance of a man carrying explosives under his clothing.
- Mr. De Menezes vaulted the ticket barriers and fled from police. In fact Mr. De Menezes did not vault any barrier and no time did he break beyond walking pace. Video footage clearly sees him making his way to the train platform as any other commuter.
- Mr De Menezes was warned by officers they were carrying weapons but he still got on the train. In fact at no time did the special officers challenge Mr. De Menezes until he got the train, no warning was given and he was bodily pulled to the floor and restrained by one officer and then shot by the other officer a total of 7 times in the head.
- Mr. De Menezes was an illegal immigrant in the UK. It is true Mr. De Menezes was a foreign national in the UK under a visa to work as an electrician. To this day, being in the UK beyond the length of your visa is not a crime punishable by death.
The reality of that terrible day was that Mr. De Menezes was killed by serving officers who were acting on the wrong information that no one decided to corroborate and confirm and now people are trying to distance themselves from the command to kill without warning. The two officers who killed Mr. De Menezes and all the team involved that day except one still serve in the same roles and not one of them has been disciplined.
Subsequently, and perhaps this could only happen in Britain, the Metropolitan Police, were collectively found guilty of breaches of the Health and Safety Act.
Why is This Still Important?
Are we raking over this terrible affair just to give some semblance of closure to the parents? Are we doing it in the public interest - after all these police were only doing their job and sometimes you have to expect casualties?
Perversely, some have argued that as it was foreign national and one out staying his visa, then he deserved to die.
The simple fact is that a man was gunned down in cold blood having not had the courtesy of a warning at any point before he alighted the train or chance to explain who he was. And the only crime punishable by death in this country is treason and for that you require a trial and conviction. In reality, he was restrained and shot 7 times in the head in front of passengers. He had no bomb, no suspicious clothing, he was not even properly identified and it is not clear on whose orders he died. At no time, even though he was using public transport to get to Stockwell Station was Mr. De Menezes intercepted and detained when there was ample chance in the open air to do so, particularly as he was under suspicion? Why was he allowed to even enter the station let alone alight a train if he was deemed dangerous?
Subsequently, the police used the camouflage of myths and misinformation, never moving to quickly identify the man shot, what he was wearing, how he behaved even though the officers involved recovered Mr. De Menezes' wallet at the scene and knew within minutes that they had shot a Brazilian citizen. Since then, at the highest level, Sir Ian Blair even, have tried to distance themselves from the bungling incompetence and negligence that brought about Jean Charles De Menezes death that day.
The fact is, we the public, have placed our trust in the authorities to protect us. All we seem to get in return is spin, lies and incompetence. That a report which was plagiarised from an old PhD Thesis could be the basis of the dossier that took us to war with Iraq is mind blowing considering the loss of life to our troops and its cost, yet the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Intelligence, John Scarlett, was never questioned why he signed it off but instead was promoted.
So when an innocent person is killed by authorities in full public view, without challenge, then we really ought to know why it got that far and how everyone plans for it never to happen like that again. Only when we know the full facts, who did what and how the two officers came to fire the shots in a desperate attempt in their eyes to stop a suicide bomber, will we feel confident that the Police will act properly next time around. The only thing the daft HSE case against The Met proved is that review of process is critical when someone has died.
Jean Charles De Menezes could have been your son - the incompetence and negligence was that great.
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