Bethan Jenkins AC/AM Blog

The Guardian reports today that there will be no punishment for the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes at London’s Stockwell tube station which took place in 2005. De Menezes was mistaken as a terrorist, and was shot by officers. This is the Independent Police Complaints Commission’s third review in to the case, and the commission stands by its decision not to hold officers to account, despite grave failings on the day.

The family of De Menezes are rightly angry at the judgement. They are  pursuing their case at the European Court, and the Telegraph informs us that ‘a compensation payout is expected to be agreed later this year with the Metropolitan police’.

The family are also alleging that many of the officers in question have been promoted since the shooting in 2005, which begs the question as to how the police can learn from this most tragic incident if officers are not punished or held accountable for their actions?

After all, an innocent man was killed in the cold light of day. Does this not set a precendence for the future? The police obviously anticipate that they may need to use similair tactics in the future if they are pursuing a lead on a person known to them as a terrorist, but does that justify their actions in this instance, and where will it stop?

A spokeswoman for the Justice4Jean campaign said the IPCC’s decision made a “mockery of the inquest’s findings” and that it ‘ gives a green light to police officers to act with impunity.’ It is difficult for me to disagree with this statement, given that nobody will be punished for what can only be described as a crime in itself, of killing an innocent man who was going about his every day life.

The campaign for justice for De Menezes has its own website, outlining its views on the failure of the police force, especially in relation to the ‘shoot to kill’ policy. They state that this policy needs to be reviewed urgently -

‘If an armed officer has no intelligence or other information that tells him that the suspect has the means to detonate a bomb, he must issue a challenge or we risk repeat killings by the police.

A proper public debate about the ‘shoot-to kill’ policy is now long overdue’.

The campaign to seek justice for De Menezes is far from over. Today’s ruling must be discussed in the context of the London Government’s wider counter terrorism strategy. There are hundres of new laws relating to terrorism in the UK, many of which infringe on our civil liberties and fail to address the wider political and social ramifications of perceived terrorist threats on the UK.