Monday, November 03, 2008

Witness says Menezes police 'out of control'


An eyewitness who was sitting near Jean Charles de Menezes on a Tube train has told his inquest that undercover police gave no warning before killing him.

Anna Dunwoodie also said that officers were "out of control" and gave off a "sense of panic" before shooting.

She told the inquest that, at the time, she thought the firearms officers pursuing Mr de Menezes were members of a gang.

She said she did not hear officers shout any warning at the electrician.

Her insistence that there was no shouted warning - which contradicts the version of events given earlier in the inquest by the police involved – was subsequently backed up by two other passengers on the train.

"I would like to say that on whether I heard anything from police officers, I am very, very clear. I had absolutely no idea who they were and had they shouted I would have latched on to that," she said.

"There was a break and it was my memory that there were more shots.

"I felt they were a bit out of control, that's what it felt like."

The officers who shot Mr De Menezes 7 times in the head told the inquest earlier that they shouted "armed police" before shooting. One firearms officer said the Brazilian moved towards him with apparent aggressive intent.

But Ms Dunwoodie, as well as other witnesses, who had been reading a book on the train, said she did not recall that happening.

After the shooting she told how she thought "something illegal" had happened and said her first impulse was to call the police to let them know.

Two eyewitnesses who sat near the carriage doors where firearms officers opened fire also said they had no recollection of any warnings from armed police.

"There was not one mention of armed police."

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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have experienced the reality of our wonderful British police first hand. They have ruined my life because that's what they can do. In this age of anti terrorism, most Brits think our cowardly cops are heroes.
Robert Cook, writer, musician and journalist.

Tue Feb 28, 02:21:00 pm GMT  

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