Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Oh, so that's the story

Here's the recent clarification on the London tube shooting of Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes (via Norwegianity). Remember? Shot by police seven times in the head and once in the chest? Was running away from police wearing a suspiciously heavy overcoat in the middle of summer?

But wait a minute, Rush, before we go killing everyone with brown skin:
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."

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