Video: Jury At Inquest For Murdered Brazilian Jean Charles De Menezes Find Scotland Yard Did Not Act Lawfully

A jury looking into the case surrounding the death of Brazilian man Jean Charles de Menezes found that Scotland Yard had not acted lawfully when they shot him as part of what they claimed was an “anti-terrorist operation” after mistaking him for suspected attempted suicide bomber Hussain Osman.

The jury had been banned by the coroner from declaring De Menezes’ death an “unlawful killing,” so, instead, the jury members decided on an “open verdict.”

The jury did not believe the officer who shot Mr. De Menezes shouted “armed police” before firing, as is protocol, nor did they believe that De Menezes had moved towards the officer with aggression. Thus, the argument that the Brazilian man was shot in self-defense was subsequently thrown out.

Upon learning of the jury’s verdict, Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson had this to say:

“In the face of immense challenges faced by officers on that day, we made a terrible mistake – I am sorry.”

“Our duty then as is now is to ensure that this organisation learns from the events to minimise the chances of it ever happening again.”

De Menezes was shot outside a London tube station on July 22, 2005, after being mistaken for would-be suicide bomber Hussain Osman. The shooting occurred two weeks after the July 7th suicide bombings which killed 52 people in London. The day prior to De Menezes’ death, a group of Muslim extremists planned to blow up the London tube with backpack bombs, but these failed to go off.

De Menezes’ mother agreed with the jury’s finding, saying she did not believe “one word” of what officers said during the inquest. Her son had moved to England after becoming an electrician in his native Brazil. His mother, Maria Otone de Menezes, had begged him not to go.

His mother has since called for the resignation of Cressida Dick, the commander in charge of the operation that ended with De Menezes being shot — according to witnesses — while seated. Says Otono de Menezes:

“I think everything that they did was completely wrong and those mistakes should start from the commander. I believe that she was not a very good commander. She made a series of mistakes - she did everything wrong, in my opinion. I think that she should resign, she should leave this post where she is in command of everything.”

Jean Charles de Menezes inquest records open verdict [Guardian UK]
Jean Charles de Menezes inquest: Mother had begged him to return to Brazil [Telegraph UK]