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.”

Esta historia es de la edición November 09, 2024 de The Independent.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición November 09, 2024 de The Independent.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE THE INDEPENDENTVer todo
The Independent

Academy champion Pulling dreams of moving up to F1

The British driver tells Kieran Jackson about beating boys and eyeing the big time after a dominant year on the track

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Fury and Usyk weigh future after bruising encounter
The Independent

Fury and Usyk weigh future after bruising encounter

Years were spent debating who would emerge as this generation’s greatest heavyweight.

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Win or lose it's a wild ride for fans with Ange in charge
The Independent

Win or lose it's a wild ride for fans with Ange in charge

It’s just the way they play, mate. From 3-4 to 1-1 to 5-0 to 4-3 to 3-6, with Tottenham taking and giving up leads, mounting comebacks, scoring in the first minute and conceding at almost any point, often in calamitous fashion.

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Can Reeves save our frozen economy from a recession?
The Independent

Can Reeves save our frozen economy from a recession?

Jack Frost swept an icy chill across the UK economy earlier than anyone expected. Following on from last week’s grim economic news, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revised its third quarter (July to September) estimate of GDP growth down to absolute zero.

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Russian scientists reveal baby mammoth remains
The Independent

Russian scientists reveal baby mammoth remains

Researchers in Siberia are conducting tests on a young mammoth whose remarkably well-preserved remains were discovered in thawing permafrost after more than 50,000 years.

time-read
1 min  |
December 24, 2024
Greenland will ‘never be for sale', its leader warns Trump
The Independent

Greenland will ‘never be for sale', its leader warns Trump

The leader of Greenland has flat-out rejected US president-elect Donald Trump’s renewed interest in purchasing the massive Arctic island from Denmark, insisting that the territory is not on the market.

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Mangione pleads not guilty on New York State charges
The Independent

Mangione pleads not guilty on New York State charges

The 26-year-old faces 11 counts including first degree murder

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Far-right AfD holds rally as Magdeburg mourns victims
The Independent

Far-right AfD holds rally as Magdeburg mourns victims

Market attack was carried out by an Islamist full of hatred for us Germans, for us Christians’, co-leader tells gathering

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
'He ripped down the tree and punched me in the face'
The Independent

'He ripped down the tree and punched me in the face'

Thousands of women will spend this festive season trapped behind closed doors and being subjected to domestic abuse

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 24, 2024
Fresh appeal over woman set on fire 30 years ago
The Independent

Fresh appeal over woman set on fire 30 years ago

Three decades on from the unsolved murder of a mother who was attacked in a churchyard, detectives have renewed their push to find her killers.

time-read
1 min  |
December 24, 2024