I just don't care

[andrewducker]

Police shot a main on the underground a few days ago.

He was not, apparently, a terrorist.

However, according to a BBC News article the following is what occurred:

1: Jean Charles de Menezes leaves a house under surveillance and arrives at Stockwell station
2: Witnesses say he vaults the automatic ticket barriers and heads for the platforms
3: He then ran down an escalator after being approached by up to 20 plain-clothed police officers and tried to board a train
4: He apparently refuses to obey police instructions and after running onto a northbound Northern line train, he is shot dead

I don't give a damn if he was innocent - if, the week after bombs go off, you vault the barriers, flee from the police and then try to get on a train, I want the police to assume you _are_ carrying a bomb and shoot you repeatedly until you're most definitely not a threat.

Because next time it might well be someone who has one.

Edit: I'd just like to make it clear that my mind is not entirely made up until the results of the enquiry come out. If it turns out they weren't actually police (as some people have said), or didn't tell him to stop, or some other fact comes out, I'm reserving the right to change my mind. I'm currently going on what the BBC is reporting.

Comments

[stillcarl.livejournal.com]

But you're not just a police officer - you're a police officer impersonating a member of the public. If you want people to believe you're the police, then dress like the police. Anyone can say they're the police - even those who're bent on beating you up just because you shouldn't be in their bloody country in the first place!

[andrewducker]

Very true. I'm going to wait to hear the final report, because I've heard everything from people saying they were obviously police to claims they were pulling on ID while in mid-chase.