ITV News and BBC News – 2005-08-16 23:56:55
http://www.itv.com/news/index_1677571.html
LONDON (August 16 2005) — ITV News has obtained secret documents and photographs that detail why police shot Jean Charles De Menezes dead on the tube. The Brazilian electrician was killed on 22 July, the day after the series of failed bombings on the tube and bus network.
The crucial mistake that ultimately led to his death was made at 9.30am when Jean Charles left his flat in Scotia Road, South London. Surveillance officers wrongly believed he could have been Hussain Osman, one of the prime suspects, or another terrorist suspect.
By 10am that morning, elite firearms officers were provided with what they describe as “positive identification” and shot De Menezes eight times in the head and upper body.
The documents and photographs confirm that Jean Charles was not carrying any bags, and was wearing a denim jacket, not a bulky winter coat, as had previously been claimed.
He was behaving normally, and did not vault the barriers, even stopping to pick up a free newspaper. He started running when we saw a tube at the platform. Police had agreed they would shoot a suspect if he ran.
A document describes CCTV footage, which shows Mr. de Menezes entered Stockwell station at a “normal walking pace” and descended slowly on an escalator.
The document said: “At some point near the bottom, he is seen to run across the concourse and enter the carriage before sitting in an available seat. “Almost simultaneously armed officers were provided with positive identification.”
A member of the surveillance team is quoted in the report. He said: “I heard shouting which included the word `police’ and turned to face the male in the denim jacket. He immediately stood up and advanced towards me and the CO19 officers. I grabbed the male in the denim jacket by wrapping both my arms around his torso, pinning his arms to his side.
“I then pushed him back on to the seat where he had been previously sitting. I then heard a gun shot very close to my left ear and was dragged away onto the floor of the carriage.”
The report also said a post mortem examination showed Mr. de Menezes was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder, but three other bullets missed, with the casings left lying in the tube carriage.
Police have declined to comment while the mistaken killing is still being investigated.
A new account of the shooting has reportedly emerged. The documents seem to cast doubt over the police’s version of the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, shot dead at Stockwell Tube station on 22 July.
Fears over Menezes Death ‘Leak’
BBC News
LONDON (August 16, 2005) — Investigators looking into how police mistook a Brazilian man for a suicide bomber and shot him, are concerned over an alleged leak of sensitive documents.
The documents seem to cast doubt over the police’s version of the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, shot dead at Stockwell Tube station on 22 July.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said its priority was to keep Mr de Menezes family informed. The shooting occurred the day after the failed bomb attacks of 21 July.
In a statement, the IPCC said it does not know where the documents, obtained by ITV news, came from. BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford said the leaked documents appeared to be witness and police statements given to the IPCC.
He said the statements suggest Mr de Menezes had walked into Stockwell Tube station, picked up a free newspaper, walked through ticket barriers and had started to run when he saw a train arriving.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, police said Mr de Menezes had been acting suspiciously and suggested he had vaulted the ticket barriers.
Police also said the Brazilian electrician had worn a large winter-style coat – but the leaked version suggested he had in fact worn a denim jacket.
The leaked version said Mr de Menezes was being restrained by a community officer when he was shot by armed police, our correspondent added. The IPCC would not comment on the details of the leak.
The commission said the family “will clearly be distressed that they have received information on television concerning his death”. Its statement added: “The IPCC made it clear that we would not speculate or release partial information about the investigation, and that others should not do so. That remains the case.”
The commission said it operated a “very high degree of security” on all of its investigations.
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