Fatal error heightens tensions

Fatal error heightens tensions
Plainclothes officers shot innocent Brazilian man in London subway


SANDRO CONTENTA
EUROPEAN BUREAU

LONDON—The police shooting of a man who had nothing to do with a wave of bomb attacks has left London's visible minorities fearing they're all potential targets in a citywide manhunt.

Police yesterday admitted the wrong man was killed Friday when plainclothes officers chased him into a south London subway station, pounced on him, and fired several bullets at point-blank range in front of horrified commuters.

The man who was reportedly shot in the head has been identified as 27-year-old Brazilian citizen, Jean Charles de Menezes.

The fatal mistake has increased tensions in a city that saw 52 commuters killed by four British suicide bombers July 7, and a botched attempt to copy those bombings last Thursday by four men now the subject of a citywide manhunt.

Police yesterday announced a second arrest under the Terrorism Act in south London's Brixton neighbourhood where the shooting of Menezes occurred. The Sun reported yesterday that a man arrested Friday was suspected of having left a bomb inside a backpack on a bus last Thursday.

The bombs left on three trains and a bus last week malfunctioned. It's believed that only the detonators exploded.

Police described Menezes' shooting as "tragic" and offered "regrets."

The news sent shock waves through the city's Muslim and visible minority communities, who fear police are now taking a "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude.

"This is very frightening. People will be afraid to walk the streets, or ride buses or carry anything in their hands," said Azzam Tamimi, head of the Muslim Association of Britain.

Especially disturbing is that Menezes' skin colour — eyewitnesses had initially described him as Asian-looking — appears to be one of the factors that turned him into a terror suspect for police, Tamimi added.

Brazilian news media reported Menezes was an electrician who had been living legally and working in England for three years.

"He spoke English very well, and had permission to study and work there," Menezes' cousin Maria Alves told the O Globo Online website from her home in Sao Paulo.

The Brazilian foreign ministry said it was "shocked and perplexed" by the police shooting of Menezes and said it would demand an explanation.

Police said the man was followed because he "emerged from a house" that was under surveillance as part of the investigation into last week's bombing attempts, which injured one person.

He was followed by officers to the Stockwell underground station and "his clothing and behaviour added to their suspicions," police said in a statement yesterday. Witnesses described the man as wearing a jacket too thick for the warm weather.

None of the witnesses cited in media reports say they heard the plainclothes officers identify themselves as police before jumping Menezes. On Friday, Metropolitan Police chief Ian Blair told reporters "the man was challenged and refused to obey police instructions."

Blair had also said that the shooting was "directly linked" to the anti-terrorist operation. On Friday, London Mayor Ken Livingstone said traditionally unarmed British police were following a "shoot-to-kill policy" when faced with someone they thought might be a suicide bomber.

John O'Connor, a former commander at the Metropolitan Police, described the shooting error as "disastrous."

"This couldn't have come at a worse time. It's very tempting to go down the path and think, `My God these guys are so trigger-happy.'"

O'Connor said the way Menezes was killed made him believe the people giving chase were members of the military's special forces rather than police. If that's the case, the men will never be identified or punished, he added.

Inayat Bunglawala, a spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain, said police must immediately explain why they believed an unarmed man on the ground posed a threat.

"The eyewitness reports we had was that this man was tackled to the ground, and the police jumped on top of him. That doesn't sound like it was absolutely necessary to shoot him dead. It sounds like they already had him overpowered," he said in an interview.

Bunglawala said the Muslim community accepts that police are under great pressure to prevent further bomb attacks. He then demonstrated how a local incident is filtered through Muslim perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, making the anger felt by some in the community all the greater.

"There really is a fear within the Muslim community that these are Israeli-style tactics now being employed on the streets of London," he said. "Shooting innocent people dead is one Israeli tactic we can do without."

He said his council received several reports of "young Muslim men going about their everyday business suddenly being forced to the ground by plainclothes officers. And they're now very fearful."

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...=1121076610871

Police defend 'shoot-to-kill' policy

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...2154&t=TS_Home

They killed him because of his skin colour. That's what it comes down to in the end. They had him tackled, they had him on the ground, then they shot him in the head five times.

http://www.canadiancontent.net/en/jd...ks-070523.html


Brazil officials call "incident" a "lamentable mistake". But asking for full information.

"shoot to kill' might be acceptable in very rare situations and IF the subject is a verified , OBVIOUS threat. Otherwise it is nothing more than cold blooded assassination. (IMHO)

Racial Profiling at its finest.

I agree he was murdered because of his skin colour.

indeed. Saw a "discussion" on this aspect on BBC last evening.......and how it relates to dangerous assumptions.


(sadly , another casualty .....indirectly......of the Iraq invasion which has fostered more terrrorism , more terrorist sub groups - a new generation of terrorism.... and a desperate /aggressive reaction to the new bombings in London. Tragic chain of events that have unfolded from one fatal decision by the "power(s)," that has abused its power on this planet. Denying that the London bombings had anything to do with the Iraq invasion , is simply deluding oneself/ lying.

I see Ian Blair (the Met. Commissioner) has defended the police's 'shoot to kill' policy regarding suspected suicide bombers. He hopes that the Menezes family understand. Well they might, but I f*cking don't: You can't put someone in prison on suspicion, but you can kill them, apparently.

The family don't understand either. The grandmother, an uncle, and a cousin were just interviewed on TV. They are, justifiably, pissed off.

I don't think this is going to go away in a hurry, no matter how much the Blair government tries to justify it. The family, leaders of the Muslim community, leaders of various immigrant communities, and very likely the Brazilian government are going to be demanding answers for a very long time and the press in Britain isn't likely to bury the story in the back pages the way the US press does.

absolutely. the family is saying: "Sorry is not enough" and want answers. As does the Brazilian Gov't. (rightly so)

What the Brits did NOT need at the moment is this kind of "diversion" from the real terrorist issue.

--

Brit police stick by "policy"

EDIT: Personal Attack

Aren't we nasty now there silent. didn't your mommy ever teach you "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all?' It's fine to disagree with someone, but your reply is akin to just being an a$$h le. Perhaps you should find a new sandbox corner to pee in

Silent just likes to pop in and give a demo of his pompous ass routine. Blah! *yawn*

You're telling me, now i'd like to pop by and offer him my pompous "boot to the ass" routine

Did I miss another brainless personal attack from the radical right? Gee I feel bad about that.

you missed nuttin...same old same old..

just an ass looking to see his reflection

hahahahahhaaha you a bad girl amanda..don't worry I gots your back covered

fanks, much apreciated...

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/nation...ogy050725.html


EIGHT shots , not five.

Holy hell...he sure looked like a terrorist...

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and now Brazil is dissed off..........and the ripple effects continue.


(and the bald a**ed liers (don't think that is toooo harsh) continue to spin that all these incidents are not a fallout from thier Iraq invasion . (directly or indirectly.... ) Just follow the anger trail.

Before everyone leaps to "racist" conclusions,let's keep in mind what the police forces in London(and other British cities) are struggling to deal with.
The report I saw on BBC TV helped to explain the situation. Evidently the Brazilian had been to a party the previous evening,where "bad blood" happened between himself and several others.He appeared on the street,was followed,was asked to stop...and his friends believe he thought the plain-clothes police were,in fact,the combatants from the previous evening,out to get him.
It is a tragedy.

Okay, let's not jump to the racist conclusion just yet. Instead let's look at the cops did. They were in plainclothes, so he wouldn't know they were cops. They were watching a multi-family dwelling. They tackled him, so he was already restrained. They pumped eight bullets into him.

Would that have happened if had pasty white skin? Nope.

I sure don't know how you can reach that particular conclusion.
Let's see...the unfortunate man emerged from a building already being watched by police. They did,in fact,identify themselves(plainclothes or not)(and the man DID speak English)...they gave chase...and one of the things law enforcement all over the world has learned in dealing with terrorists...you cannot shoot for the body(and the body pack or back pack)...that would create a huge explosion...they are being taught to shoot for the head....
It's an unfortunate reality of today's times.

Reports: Man shot by London police was sitting on seat in subway train

An innocent Brazilian man shot dead by British police who mistook him for a London bombing suspect had taken a seat on a subway train and was tackled by a police surveillance officer before being shot, according to an account of events broadcast Tuesday.

Read the rest here