The picture of events surround the police shooting of a Brazilian man Friday are beginning to emerge. Police have said they followed the Brazilian, Jean Menezes, from his flat after identifying the residency with being that of one or more of the terror suspects. The plain clothes policemen, described as dressed shabbily by one witness, then followed the man firstly onto a bus and then into Stockwell station. Criticism has been made that the police did not stop the suspect from boarding the bus, if indeed he posed such a major threat. Nonetheless he was only challenged when entering the underground station. It is still not clear what the exact details as to the challenge made. Mr Menezes apparently ran down the escalator and entered the train where two offers apparently held him down according to one witness and unloaded 8 rounds into him. Seven bullets hit Mr Menezes in the head and one in his shoulder, police said yesterday. As the passengers escaped up the stairs and escalators, the driver of the train left his cab and escaped along the tunnel. He was then chased by police and was briefly held with a gun pointed at his head, according to ASLEF. Police later apologized a report in the Scotsman said. Jack Straw, foreign secretary, has said he is “very, very sorry” over the shooting of Mr Menezes, but the anger in Brazil and confusion as to how such a ‘mistake’ could occur, prevails. Opinions vary widely from support of the police, to utter condemnation of a ‘trigger happy police force’.
Blogging has been the outlet for many, as the BBC reports.
[13:30 GMT 26/07/2005]
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