Met officer who shot dead De Menezes finally speaks
The Independent|November 09, 2024
The firearms officer who shot innocent Jean Charles de Menezes in a botched police operation in the wake of the London 7/7 bombings has spoken out for the first time and admitted he would never want to meet his victim’s family.
AMY-CLARE MARTIN
Met officer who shot dead De Menezes finally speaks

The 27-year-old Brazilian electrician, who was not carrying a backpack, was on his way to work when two firearms officers fired seven bullets into his head and one into his shoulder after they mistook him for a suicide bomber.

The incident at Stockwell underground station on 22 July 2005 sparked one the biggest crises in British policing, culminating in the Metropolitan Police being fined £560,000 for endangering the public.

Speaking out for the first time in a new documentary ahead of the 20th anniversary of the shooting, the firearms officer known as C12 has admitted he has no intention of ever meeting De Menezes’s family, fearing the emotional impact could “make my life a bit unbearable”.

He described the constant worry as like a “weeping sore” but said the Brazilian man’s family were the real victims.

“I’m suffering in a way, but in no way would I count my suffering as their suffering,” he said. “At the moment the person that I shot, I can’t really remember them, I don’t remember any facial features so in a way it’s lessened the potential impact it’s had on me.

“And I don’t think I would like to open any closets which would make my life a bit unbearable. I know that sounds really, really selfish but that’s how I feel. I have been brutally honest about why we did what we did. I just hope they are words enough to explain our actions for that day.”

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 09, 2024 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 09, 2024 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE INDEPENDENT مشاهدة الكل
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