![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
More on the shoot-to-kill mishap...
It's the last paragraph that makes for interesting reading...
Ms Figueiredo described her cousin, a 27-year-old electrician, as an "extremely honest" person and said he had done nothing against the law.
She was one of four of the dead man's cousins - the others were Alessandro Pereira, Alex Pereira and Patricia Da Silva Armani - speaking at the London press conference.
They said they did not believe Mr Menezes, who had been challenged by plainclothes officers outside Stockwell, had vaulted the ticket barriers in order to evade them, nor that he had been wearing a heavy jacket, as was reported at the time.
Ms Figueiredo said police told her he was wearing a denim jacket and had used his travel card to get through the station.
From here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4722861.stm
Ms Figueiredo described her cousin, a 27-year-old electrician, as an "extremely honest" person and said he had done nothing against the law.
She was one of four of the dead man's cousins - the others were Alessandro Pereira, Alex Pereira and Patricia Da Silva Armani - speaking at the London press conference.
They said they did not believe Mr Menezes, who had been challenged by plainclothes officers outside Stockwell, had vaulted the ticket barriers in order to evade them, nor that he had been wearing a heavy jacket, as was reported at the time.
Ms Figueiredo said police told her he was wearing a denim jacket and had used his travel card to get through the station.
From here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4722861.stm
no subject
Then of course, there is a lot of stuff going around about what people definitely saw, and what they definitely didn't see - most of it contradicting other eye witnesses reports - which I wish the press would put a cork in it. It's not objective reporting and it's making matters worse. Using emotive language is one sided and just going to spread more fear than inform.
They can believe all the stuff they want in the world if it makes them feel better, but we will all see what the official line is when the inquest is over.
Would his family be saying the same things if he had turned out to be a bomber? I would just like to say to his family, that yes it was a terrible tragedy, but so were the deaths of the 60 odd innocent people on those trains and on the bus, all the people who have survived but are maimed, all the families.
The police have a job to do, and they got it wrong on this occasion, but they are getting it right in many other places with regards to thse attacks. They can not take the chance with a person who acted suspiciously and then ran onto a train full of people, because if he had turned out to be a terrorist those same policemen would be facing an inquest into why they didn't shoot to stop the fellow.
While it is not grounds to be shot on, he did have an expired Visa - not quite perhaps the 'extremely honest' person that he was supposed to be...
I just wish that all these people would come over here and show the police how it is done - they obviously have far more superior knowledge on how to tackle terrorists. I would be very interested to see...
no subject
The words that got my attention and made me post this were "police told her". If the police really did say that, it'll come out at the inquiry, yes. But if they didn't, I'd expect that statement to have vanished from the BBC website by now.
And I really don't think the expired visa was relevant. The claim that it had expired came from anonymous sources - and hasn't been confirmed, as far as I know. The reply from Jack Straw was that he did not know Mr Menezes' precise immigration status but said it was his "understanding that he was here lawfully". Let's just leave it at that, ok?
I just wish that all these people would come over here and show the police how it is done - they obviously have far more superior knowledge on how to tackle terrorists. I would be very interested to see...
The police have a very mixed record on this. They made some very unfortunate mistakes when dealing with the IRA, for example, some of which were entirely avoidable (and a few of which were actively dishonest/sloppy - West Midlands Serious Crime Squad, anyone?). That's the background I grew up against, and I'm waiting to be proved wrong. I hope they'll do better this time, but I'm not entirely confident.
no subject
The decision to shoot to kill was implemented over 3 and half years ago, we've just not had to use it until now, so hundreds of people dying at the hands of the police is just not going to happen. They dont go around shooting for the fun of it, but they are under immense pressure to catch these guys and also prevent any more attacks. It was unfortunate that the guy happened to be in the wrong building at the wrong time, and looked shifty. Even more unfortunate that he decided to use the tube to try to get away and I can not fault the police for taking the action that they did. Their decisions are not taken lightly.
People are so quick off the mark to put the police down, based on their past record, but they neglect all the good things that they have done. It's always the same, people are swift to talk about how things should be done, but very rarely are willing to do anything about what they say or follow their words with any action and that is what I was refering to.
no subject
So it's best if we agree to differ on this one. Neither you nor I are in any position to follow our words with action (other than letting our MPs know just what we think), after all.