de Menezes execution: prosecute police?

[dcentity2000]

The family of Jean Charles de Menezes say they want the officers who shot him by mistake to be prosecuted after they visited the scene where he died.
His mother Maria Otone de Menezes said: "Those who killed my son, as much as the police chief who is responsible for the whole team, should be punished."

She spoke after the family had retraced Mr Menezes' final journey from his south London flat to Stockwell Tube.

The electrician was shot the day after the failed 21 July bombings in London.

Mrs Menezes said: "I want the police responsible to be taken to justice.

"He was a hard-working boy. When the police took his life, they took my life as well."

She said it was "lamentable that the life of a hard-working young man can be taken away so brutally".

Source and full story: BBC News

Jean Charles de Menezes was shadowed by undercover officers, restrained and shot repeatedly in the head "executioner style" on suspicion of being suicide bomber. Early police statements suggested that Mr. de Menezes had:
- been wearing bulky clothing
- vaulted the gates
- run towards the train
- acted suspiciously
- ignored orders to stop;

leaked reports stated that Mr. de Menezes had:
- placidly walked into the station
- taken time to pick up a newspaper
- passed trough the barriers with ticket
- been wearing light clothing
- been restrained with both arms behind his back before he was shot
- not been ordered to stop
- had boarded the train before being challenged

One person has been arrested for leaking the report. They are out on bail.

Murder charges are likely to be pressed. Do you think they should be?



Rich::

 

[Disney Doll]

I think charges should be pressed on whomever is determined to be responsible.

That being said, I also find it hard to believe that the police just picked this guy out of a crowd to execute if he was acting as innocently as the "leaked" reprot says he was. Just doesn't make sense to me.

Several years ago, I was a homecare nurse. I was asked to see a patient who was a paraplegic because the police "burst into his house for no reason" and shot him.Of course, I spoke to a couple of nurses who lived in his neighborhood, who told me that he had been involved in drugs etc., and was shot as part of a drug thing.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I prefer a maybe to a "don't know".

A thorough investigation--and if it is deemed above and beyond what was necessary to take control of the situation--then yes, murder charges should be filed against teh offending parties.

(I recall a post a while back about multiple gunshots to the man almost execution style--if that is what the investigation has revealed, then my answer is a profound yes).

 

[wvrevy]

ABSOLUTELY these thugs should be prosecuted. What they did was no different than a hate crime. The profiled this "middle-eastern-looking" man, thought he was dangerous, and determined themselves to be judge, jury, and executioner. Why would there even be any question about whether they should be prosecuted or not ?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Why would there even be any question about whether they should be prosecuted or not ?

I guess some of us just aren't as knowledgable about the situation as others are.

 

[magicgirl]

I think that this dreadfull incident needs to be looked at in context. Most of the UK were frightened about what had happened in London and we were expecting more sucide bombers. Unfortunately the intellegence was corrupted as it was passed along to other police officers and by the time he was shot at the train station the officers there thought he had been confirmed as a terrorist. The reason for the execution style is becouse sucide bombers do not need their hands to detonate the bombs and they need to be killed quickly so they are not able to murder hundreds more.

I live 10 miles away from where the bombers got on the train to go to London and while I feel very sorry for the dead man's family I do not believe the police should be prosecuted. He was as much a victim of the bombers as the people they blew up.

If your Airforce had blown a plane up just after 9/11 becouse they believed another attack was coming would you expect "the thugs responsible" to be prosecuted if it was proved that they had made a mistake.