by The firearms officer who shot innocent Jean Charles de Menezes in a botched police operation following the 7/7 London bombings has spoken for the first time and admitted he would not want to meet his victim’s family.
The 27-year-old Brazilian electrician, who was not carrying a backpack, was on his way to work when two firearms officers fired seven shots into his head and one into his shoulder after teasing him suicide bomber.
The incident at Stockwell Underground station on 22 July 2005 sparked one of the biggest crises in British policing, with the Metropolitan Police fined £560,000 for endangering the public.
Speak out for the first time in a new documentary before the 20thth On the anniversary of the shooting, the firearms officer known as C12 admitted that he has no intention of ever meeting the family of Menezes, fearing that the emotional impact could “make my life a little unbearable”.
He described the ongoing concern as “sobbing” but said the real victims were the people of Brazil.
“I suffer in any way, but I in no way count my suffering as theirs,” he said.
“At the moment, the person I shot, I don’t really remember them, I don’t remember any facial features so in a way it’s reduced the potential impact he had on me.
“And I don’t think I want to open any closets that would make my life a little unbearable. I know that sounds really, really selfish but that’s how I feel.
“I was very honest about why we did what we did. I hope they are enough words to explain our actions for that day.”
Speaking about the moment he pulled the trigger, the officer said he was “100 per cent convinced we were all about to die” and that he and his “army brother”, known as C2, live with their decision throughout the country. rest of her life.
The officer, who recently retired after 40 years in the Met, said: “We have a duty to fully explain to a family in a respectful way why we acted as we did.
“Everything told me, everything told me I was going to die, everything, and that’s why I acted the way I did. And it turns out that was not the case. How do you think I’ll feel afterwards?”
The police who followed Mr de Menezes wrongly believed he was one of four men who had failed to detonate bombs on the capital’s transport system the day before. The attempt by Hussein Osman, who lived in the same building as Mr de Menezes, and three others failed just two weeks after four suicide bombers struck London, killing 52 people.
As a result of the shooting reports claimed that Mr De Menezes ran from the police and vaulted the barriers at the Stockwell tube, but C12 confirmed that this was a mistake by eyewitnesses who saw him jump the barrier in pursuit.
Documents later leaked by the then police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), revealed that Mr de Menezes used his Oyster card to enter the station and take a seat on the train before he was shot.
The armed officer said he was instructed to stop Mr de Menezes getting on the tube with the code word “state red, state red” after surveillance officers from the building where the suspected terrorist lived followed him.
He recalled pointing his gun at the 27-year-old who got out of his seat and shouting “armed police”, but said he continued to move towards him.
C12 said time “seemed to slow down” as he fired the shots at Mr de Menezes, which left him covered in blood and “rubbish”. When he was finally allowed to shower, he washed bone splinters out of his hair, he said.
Later the police found an identification card on Mr. de Menezes and realized that they had shot an innocent man. The real suspect, Osman, was arrested in Rome a week later.
Q12 said his daughter would wake up at night and was struggling with excruciating stress headaches as the fallout from the shooting unfolded.
“I’ve always seen good versus evil policing in very clear terms – we’re the good guys, you have to fight the bad guys for the sake of the good guys in society,” he said.
“Never thought, oh, that we have to face a situation like a turn from being a goodie to being a suspect in the case all of a sudden. As a police officer, if you’re charged with a crime, your life is over.”
His comments come amid widespread controversy over the trial of gunman Martyn Blake, who was acquitted last month of murdering Chris Kaba in a police shooting in September 2022.
No individual officer was charged over the shooting of Mr de Menezes, but the Met was found guilty of health and safety failings for a series of errors during the botched operation, which was led by Cressida Dick.
A Met Police spokesman said the incident was scrutinized in multiple inquiries and all IPCC recommendations were immediately implemented.
“The shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is a source of deep regret for the Metropolitan Police Service. Our thoughts remain with his family and we apologize to them again,” the force said.
“No officer goes on duty with the intent to end a life. Our sole purpose is the complete opposite – the protection and preservation of life – and we have taken extensive action to address the causes of this tragedy.”
Game Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube on Channel 4 at 9pm on Sunday 10 and Monday 11 November.
