Tube blunder marksmen 'almost shot dead fellow police officer' before gunning down de Menezes

12 April 2012

The dramatic moment police marksmen stormed a Tube train and gunned down Jean Charles de Menezes was played out in court today.

An Old Bailey jury heard horrific details of the innocent man's death, including the moment an officer effectively signed his death warrant by identifying him to armed colleagues with the words "Here he is".

The court was also told of extraordinary scenes as marksmen nearly shot a tube driver - and a fellow officer - in the chaos before "taking out" Mr de Menezes.

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Gunned down: Jean Charles de Menezes

The Brazilian electrician was shot dead after a series of "shocking and catastrophic" errors by police, the Old Bailey heard today.

He was gunned down at point blank range at Stockwell tube station after officers mistook him for a suicide bomber.

But a jury was today told his death could have been prevented but for a "fundamental failure" in planning and procedure by Metropolitan Police.

This included a firearms team turning up four hours late at Mr de Menezes' address - and even stopping for petrol at the crucial moment the electrician left his house.

In an unprecedented case, the force is on trial over alleged health and safety breaches, which it is claimed "invited disaster".

The Old Bailey heard today a detailed account of the moment police marksmen confronted the Brazilian.

"As the armed police entered the carriage, Jean Charles stood up," said Clare Montgomery, prosecuting.

"He was grabbed by a surveillance officer and pushed back into his seat. Two firearms officers leant over him and placed their Glock 9mm pistols against Jean Charles' head and fired.

"He was shot seven times quite deliberately in the head and he died immediately. He was not involved in terrorism in any way."

Stockwell Tube station: The scene of the shooting

The court also heard of extraordinary scenes on the underground as police marksmen narrowly missed killing a tube driver and a fellow policeman.

Miss Montgomery described how one officer pointed his gun at the train driver cowering in the tunnel.

And one of the surveillance officers who had trailed Mr de Menezes was dragged along the floor of the carriage by another armed policeman who was pointing his weapon at his chest, despite his assertion he was a colleague.

"You may think the fact the police ended up pointing a gun at another policeman and mistaking a terrorised Tube driver for a terrorist gives you a clue as to just how far wrong the operation had gone.", Miss Montgomery said.

"There was fundamental confusion about what the operation involved and what the police were supposed to be doing."

She added it was simply a "matter of luck" no-one else was killed.

Earlier in the day, police teams had been carrying out a a surveillance operation at Mr de Menezes' address at Scotia Road, south London, on July 22 2005, which they had linked to July 21 attempted bomber Hussain Osman.

But despite the surveillance being launched more than four hours earlier, a firearms team had yet to arrive at the house by the time Mr de Menezes left his home for work at 9.33am, Miss Montgomery told the court.

In fact, they were two miles away having stopped for petrol on the way.

The court heard this afternoon of further blunders when the Special Branch surveillance officer ordered to video each person leaving the Scotia Road flats was answering a call of nature when Mr de Menzes left the building.

The officer known as "Frank" was unable to switch his camera on in time.

Under pressure: Sir Ian Blair has faced criticism

Surveillance officers followed Mr de Menezes on two buses and then down into Stockwell Tube station where CCTV pictures showed him being tailed.

The trackers asked their superiors more than once if they should arrest Mr de Menezes but were told to wait, Miss Montgomery said.

They did not know that the order had been given to "stop" him to prevent him boarding the Tube.

CCTV images shown to the jury showed armed officers, who did not know whether Mr de Menezes was the suspect, brandishing their weapons as they made their way down to the platform.

As they boarded the Tube carriage, they were recognised by surveillance officers as armed colleagues, and one identified the electrician.

Miss Montgomery said the "disaster" of the innocent Brazilian electrician's death was "not the result of a fast-moving operation going suddenly and unpredictably awry".

"It was the result of fundamental failures to carry out a planned operation in a safe and reasonable way," she said.

Miss Montgomery told the jurors that while some of the officers present when Mr de Menezes was shot would be called to give evidence, the two who actually killed him would not.

Only those who it was felt would give a "real insight" into the police operation that day would be called, she said.

"Those witnesses will prove the Crown's case that the police's operation on July 22 invited the disaster which occurred."

She said the allegation against police was that they carried out the investigation and pursuit of a suspected suicide bomber "in such a way that the public were exposed to the possibility of danger".

Miss Montgomery added: "We say that the police planned and carried out an operation that day so badly that the public were needlessly put at risk, and Jean Charles de Menezes was actually killed as a result."

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Relatives arrive: cousin Alessandro Pereira, friend Elora Ronaldo da Silva and cousin Vivian Figueiredo represent the family of Jean Charles de Menezes at the Old Bailey today

The court was also told that on the morning of Mr de Menezes' death, a second surveillance team had been called in early for a briefing at Scotland Yard and were told by Detective Inspector Andrew Whiddett that they had to contain the block of flats.

When an officer asked his superior what "contain" meant, the inspector just shrugged his shoulders, the court heard.

By this time Commander Cressida Dick had been brought in to take the specific decision whether a suspected suicide bomber shuld be shot to prevent detonation of a bomb, the court heard.

This was known as an " Operation Kratos scenarioî and by 7.15am - two hours before Mr de Menezes left home - she was in charge of the whole Scotia Road operation.

The Metropolitan Police deny all charges, but if found guilty, the force will face an unlimited fine, which could run into the millions and would be paid by the taxpayer.

In effect, the Met is accused of failing to ensure the safety of the public by not stopping the electrician from boarding a bus or reaching the Underground.

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Marksmen: The scene outside Stockwell tube

A three dimensional computer reconstruction of the shooting and the last moments of Mr de Menezes after he left his home to travel to work will be shown to jurors.

The trial is expected to last up to six weeks and is considered by senior officers to be a landmark case for policing.

The outcome will also be a further test for Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair who has faced criticism over his handling of the aftermath of the shooting.

Last year the Crown Prosecution Service announced that no individual officers would be charged with either murder or manslaughter in connection with the shooting.

Instead, government lawyers said the Metropolitan Police should face criminal charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The killing took place a day after July 21 2005 when four men went on the run after attempting to explode rucksack bombs on London Underground trains and a bus.

The trial is expected to hear evidence from more than 50 witnesses, the vast majority of them police officers involved in the operation.

Another of the witnesses is expected to be a serving member of military special forces who was on attachment to the Met as part of a surveillance squad on that day.

However, Commissioner Sir Ian is not due to give evidence and neither are the two police firearms officers who carried out the shooting.

The case follows two major investigations into the shooting by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

CHAOS IN THE CONTROL ROOM

There were chaotic scenes in the control room at Scotland Yard during the operation, the court was told today.

Prosecutor Clare Montgomery said: "The operation that led to Jean Charles's death should have been planned, controlled and supervised by a group of senior officers at New Scotland Yard. That was the theory. The reality was different.

"Officers from other departments - many of whom had no real business being there - crowded into the room to see what was going on.

"The operations room was noisy and chaotic. The officers involved had to shout to make themselves heard.

"The officer who was supposed to monitor the surveillance commentary had great difficulty in hearing the radio transmissions. There were repeated requests for nonessential staff to leave the room."

While surveillance officers on the ground heard nothing to identify or discount Mr de Menezes, some officers in the operations room apparently thought there had been "first a positive non-identification and then later a positive identification".

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