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Brazilian murdered on london tube - new evidence
| quote: | The family of a man shot dead by police who mistakenly suspected him of being a suicide bomber are calling for a public inquiry into the killing.
The dead man's cousin has said those responsible should be jailed for life.
It comes after leaked documents contradicted previous accounts of the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Tube station on 22 July.
Investigation papers, leaked to ITV, suggest the Brazilian was restrained before being shot eight times.
Mr Menezes' family want the suspension of the "shoot-to-kill" policy and their lawyer has called for Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair to resign.
Sir Ian has described the policy on tackling suspected suicide bombers as a "shoot to kill in order to protect policy", insisting that less forceful tactics could still allow a terrorist to detonate their explosives.
The IPCC made it clear that we would not speculate or release partial information about the investigation, and that others should not do so
IPCC statement
Questioning 'shoot-to-kill'
Police shooting discrepancies
Timeline: Tube shooting
The leaked documents, seemingly from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation into the shooting, contradict eyewitness reports suggesting Mr de Menezes hurdled a barrier at Stockwell tube station and was wearing a padded jacket that could have concealed a bomb.
They now suggest the Brazilian had walked into Stockwell Tube station, picked up a free newspaper, walked through ticket barriers, started to run when he saw a train arriving and was sitting down in a train when he was shot.
Scotland Yard had said on the day of the shooting - 24 hours after the 21 July failed attacks - that "his clothing and his behaviour at the station added to their suspicions".
Despite eyewitness reports that the suspect had worn a large winter-style coat, the version of events in the leaked documents suggested he had in fact worn a denim jacket.
A statement from the Menezes family legal team accused the police of breaching their statutory duty by not immediately inviting the IPPC to start its inquiry.
'Crucial' investigation
Scotland Yard said Sir Ian Blair had written to the permanent secretary at the Home Office on the morning of Mr Menezes death "to clarify the role of IPCC if, as it then appeared" the shooting was of a suspected terrorist.
"This was because it was crucial that the terrorist investigation took precedence over any IPCC investigation at that time.
"This letter led to further conversations that day, where it was agreed that the Metropolitan Police would hand over the shooting investigation to the IPCC, with their officers taking over on the following Monday."
Mr de Menezes' cousin Allessandro Pereira said: "Jean was an innocent man who was shot in cold blood. We now know that he wasn't wearing a bulky jacket, that he wasn't acting suspiciously or that he was told to stop by the police.
The leak suggests the electrician was restrained before shot
"He was being restrained when he was shot and killed."
He told the London Evening Standard: "The officers who have done this have to be sent to jail for life because it's murder and the people who gave them the order to shoot must be punished."
In a statement, the IPCC said it does not know where the documents came from and that its priority was to keep Mr de Menezes family informed.
It would not comment on the details of the leak, adding the family "will clearly be distressed that they have received information on television concerning his death".
The family's lawyer Harriet Wistrich said they wanted to know why misleading reports had been allowed to circulate.
Key questions
"Clearly we now know that Jean Charles was doing absolutely nothing to arouse any suspicion, he was just unfortunate to be living in a block of flats that was under surveillance and to look slightly brown skinned."
Ms Wistrich said it also suggested the information given to the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination on Mr de Menezes was incorrect.
The legal team's statement demanded answers to 12 key questions, including how police made themselves known to the victim, and why Mr Menezes family in London were placed in a hotel room without access to telephones.
The home secretary must now use his powers to order a full judicial inquiry into the killing
Asad Rehman
Justice4Jean
They also asked why the pathologist at the post mortem on 27 July was told: "[Mr Menezes] was followed into Stockwell Tube Station where he vaulted over the ticket barrier. He ran downstairs and onto a Tube train where it appears that he stumbled. The officers then immobilised him and a number of shots were fired."
Asad Rehman, spokesman for the Justice4Jean Family Campaign said: "The overwhelming majority of the people of London join us in believing that there can be no alternative but the immediate suspension of the shoot-to-kill policy before another innocent Londoner becomes its victim.
"The home secretary must now use his powers to order a full judicial inquiry into the killing."
Meanwhile, speaking to the Evening Standard before the disclosure of the leaked details, Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the Met had operated "highly professionally" when faced with the threat of suicide bombers.
Scotland Yard and the Home Office have so far said it would be inappropriate to comment.
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They person who shoot him should be done for murder.
What kind of clowns do they have running the police over there? Really is a massive fuck up on their part.
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