Latest news with #C2
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Yahoo
Police officer who killed Jean Charles de Menezes apologises to his family in Netflix doc
A firearms officer known only as C2 publicly has spoken out for the first time about his part in Jean Charles de Menezes' death in 2005, sharing in Netflix's new 7/7 documentary that he regretted the innocent man's killing and he apologised to his family. Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers examines the events of the devastating terrorist attacks that took place on 7 July 2005, which saw 52 people killed when bombs were detonated on three tube trains and a London bus. A copy cat attack was attempted on 21 July, and when the bombs failed to detonate and the bombers evaded custody the police began a manhunt in order to find them. On 22 July 2005, Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was wrongly identified as one of the four attempted bombers. This misidentification occurred after one of the bombers was linked to the same block of flats in Tulse Hill, South London, that de Menezes lived in. Police and firearms officers followed de Menezes to Stockwell tube station, where he was shot and killed on a Victoria line train by two officers known as C12 and C2. The 27-year-old was shot seven times in the head, with C2 firing five of these gunshots. C2, whose face was hidden throughout the Netflix documentary, said his interview "will probably be the only time I will talk about it, rather than take it to my grave". He expressed his concerns over the way in which the operation was handled by senior officers but said he accepted responsibility for his actions. Reflecting on what he would say to de Menezes' family in the final episode of the docuseries, C2 explained: "I would say to Jean Charles's family that I am sorry. That I, and another officer, were put in a position where we killed your son. I would do anything to roll back time to have a different set of circumstances where that didn't happen. It shouldn't have happened." The third episode of the documentary recounted the events that led to de Menezes' death, with C2 saying that "there were very limited instructions" given on how to proceed when the Brazilian was wrongly suspected of being one of the would-be bombers, beyond a shoot to kill order. Speaking about the events at Stockwell tube station, C2 explained: "I knew he was a minute, maybe two minutes ahead of me, so I had to run. I'm thinking, 'I cannot believe we have allowed this situation to develop, we have allowed someone we believe is a suicide bomber into the tube network, could have a device on him and he could initiate that device. "My only way in was to leap over the barrier. I remember chasing down the escalator steps, I drew my weapon and I put it behind my back. The surveillance officer indicated who the subject was. "The surveillance officer pinned his hands to his side. I was convinced we were about to die, I had a responsibility and I feared the very worst. I fired and so did my colleague Charlie 12. And I kept firing until I was absolutely certain there was no further threat." He said that "time had slowed down" after he shot and killed de Menezes, adding: "I could not believe what had happened. To be frank I was numb with shock because of the horror of what had occurred. But there was a relief that we were still standing, and we had stopped an attack." "I could not wait to get off the tube, away from that scene. I remember leaving in an unmarked police car." When he returned home C2 "didn't get any sleep" and suffered from "massive tinnitus" after the incident, it was the next day that he learned the man he had killed was identified as de Menezes and that he was an innocent man. "I can't describe how I felt, the worst feeling ever, I killed an innocent man and I now know who that man is," C2 said. Following de Menezes' shooting there was widespread misreporting about the Brazilian's actions in the lead up to his killing, reports claimed that de Menezes was wearing a bulky jacket, had vaulted the barriers, and had attempted to flee from officers. None of this was true, and C2 spoke out against these inaccurate claims. He explained: "It was widely reported that we had chased the subject down into the tube. That was not the case at all, I leapt over the barriers, C12 leapt over the barriers, not the suspect. He'd walked through, gone down the steps and got onto the tube long before we deployed. And I think that's where the confusion lies, it was us the public had seen, not the suspect." The firearms officer was asked if he felt responsible, to which he said: "I am responsible, and I accept responsibility. As a firearms officer, ultimately, the decision to use force is yours. But why were we in that position? Those people who put him in that position they also have to answer." In 2006 the Crown Prosecution Service decided against prosecuting the officers involved in the attacks. Dame Cressida Dick, who led the operation that resulted in de Menezes death, was cleared of any blame by a jury at the end of the prosecution of the Met under health and safety laws. The force was fined £175,000 in 2007 after being found guilty of endangering the public, and in 2008 an inquest into de Menezes' death resulted in an open verdict by a jury. The coroner presiding over the case had not permitted the jury from considering a verdict of unlawful killing. The Met paid compensation to de Menezes' family in 2009. In 2015 the electrician's family challenged the decision not to prosecute anyone involved in de Menezes' death at the European Court of Human Rights. However, in 2016 this bid was rejected when judges determined there was not enough evidence that the event breached human rights laws. The police did arrest the four men involved in the 21/7 attempted terrorist attack. Hussain Osman, Ramzi Mohammed, Muktar Ibrahim and Yassin Omar were detained and found guilty of conspiracy to murder and they were each sentenced to life imprisonment, of which they have to serve a minimum of 40 years. Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers is out now on Netflix.
Scottish Sun
01-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
I gunned down Jean Charles de Menezes – then was told we'd got wrong man…it was worst moment, says cop in ONLY interview
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IT'S almost 20 years since electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead on a packed London Tube carriage in a tragic case of mistaken identity. The capital was on high alert as four suicide bombers were on the run after a failed attack on the transport system the day before, which saw police and MI5 launch the biggest manhunt of modern times. 12 Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by armed police officers at Stockwell Tube Station in a case of mistaken identity on July 22, 2005 Credit: PA:Press Association 12 Police followed Jean Charles through the London Underground station, fearing he was a suicide bomber Credit: Handout 12 Two officers – codenamed C2 and C12 - killed Jean Charles with seven bullets to the head Credit: PA 12 Now C2, who fired five shots, speaks for the first time and expresses his sincere regret over the killing Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd A terrible error led to armed police officers following Brazilian Jean Charles, 27, onto the London Underground at Stockwell, south London on the morning of July 22, 2005. Two of them – codenamed C2 and C12 - killed him with seven bullets to the head. Now C2, who fired five shots, has spoken out for the first time to apologise to his family - admitting he wishes he could turn back the clock. He tells a Netflix documentary which drops today: "I would say to Jean Charles' family I'm sorry, that I and another officer were put in a position where we killed your son. "I would do anything to roll back time, to have a different set of circumstances where that didn't happen. That should not have happened.' In the four-part series - Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 bombers - C2 appears with his face hidden under a baseball cap and a hoodie. He says: 'I have never spoken about this publicly. This will probably be the only time that I will talk about it, rather than take it to my grave.' A third firearms officer, Charlie 5, witnessed the killing, and two decades later the events of that fateful morning are burnt into his subconscious. Just two weeks after four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters and wounded more 700 others on July 7, four terrorists planned to carry out copy-cat bombings on three tube trains and a bus. But the 21/7 bombers failed to detonate their devices because the hydrogen peroxide mixture they had used as explosive was too weak. 7/7 survivor Dan Biddle and his rescuer Adrian interview Instead the would-be bombers dumped their backpacks and fled. A gym membership card left in one of the backpacks led cops to one suspect, Hussein Osman. Anti-terrorist police and specialist firearms officers quickly had the block of flats in Scotia Road, Tulse Hill under surveillance. Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, also lived there. 'Critical shot' 12 On the morning of July 22, Jean Charles de Menezes was followed by code-named officers from his home to Stockwell Station, which had been the suicide bombers' point of entry to the Tube network the previous day Credit: Handout 12 Officers followed Jean Charles down the escalators onto the platform Credit: Handout 12 The body of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot while the Tube carriage was packed with people Credit: Handout Police marksman C5, who by then had been on the firearms squad for nearly 10 years, recalls: 'We were told, 'Today you may be called upon to use unusual tactics.' 'I think someone said, 'What do you mean, like critical shot?' 'And he said, 'All I'll say is don't question anything you're told because you will not have the full picture.' 'They gave us already-loaded fresh magazines with hollow-point ammunition. 'We were told that some of the devices could be small, like a suicide vest. It could be a belt with a bomb in it. It could be a coffee jar size that could go in a pocket. 'When we left there, we were under no illusion how dangerous these bombers were. I have never spoken about this publicly. This will probably be the only time that I will talk about it, rather than take it to my grave C2 'We were told they were highly motivated, determined and deadly. We were also told we would only be used if one of the subjects was identified as one of the bombers.' He adds: 'For whatever reason, there had been some sort of cock up in the OP [Operational Support] van. 'Normally they would have had a good opportunity to take a photograph and could have said there and then if it was or wasn't him.' The other problem was that instructions had to come from a control room at Scotland Yard, instead of the unit's own commanders at SO19 – which led to long delays. 'Edgy' On the morning of July 22, Jean Charles de Menezes was followed from his home as he boarded a bus to Brixton, where he got off, and then got back on again because the Underground station was closed. To police surveillance teams he appeared to be acting suspiciously. He then got off at Stockwell Station, which had been the suicide bombers' point of entry to the Tube network the previous day. C5 tells The Sun: 'It was looking more and more likely this was the subject. Over the radio he was described as edgy. 'In my head I kept thinking, it's escalating. At some point I felt we would have to intervene. 'Then, of course, we got those immortal words, 'He must not be allowed to get on that Tube under any circumstances'. In my head I kept thinking, it's escalating. At some point I felt we would have to intervene. Then, of course, we got those immortal words, 'He must not be allowed to get on that Tube under any circumstances' C5 'We were deployed. As far as we were concerned, it was a positive ID. 'I remember going down the Tube, down the escalators, thinking, we're going to be too late, and the train's going to go in the tunnel, and I'm going to see a big flash, a big explosion.' C2 remembers: 'He's a minute, maybe two minutes ahead of me. So I had to run. 'I'm thinking I cannot believe that we have allowed this situation to develop. 'We've allowed someone we believe is a suicide bomber into the tube network. To have a device on him. To initiate that device. 'My only way in was to leap over the barrier. I remember chasing down the escalator. I pulled my weapon and I put it behind my back. Charlie 5 says: 'It was a nightmare scenario because we all knew we'd lose radio comms. 'C2 and C12 were in front of me. We were not shouting 'Armed police'.' Charlie 5 admits: 'I've been involved in quite a few shooting incidents but nothing like this. 'It was one of those days where you had to step into the arena, deal with what was in front of you and do what needed to be done.' 'Numb' 12 Jean Charles' final movements were shown in court Credit: PA:Press Association The underground carriage was still standing at the platform. C5 entered through the single door at the end. He says: 'At the inquest there was only about 17 people shown in the carriage at the time but it was absolutely jam-packed. 'It had been sitting on the platform for probably four or five minutes, and people just kept getting on. 'I remember having to push my way through people moving through the carriage trying to identify the suspect, looking, where is he? 'As I got to the doors my two colleagues were there, so I knew I was in the right carriage. I was aware of someone standing up to the left.' Shots rang out. C2 says: 'A surveillance officer already in the carriage indicated who the subject was. 'I was convinced we were about to die. I fired and so did my colleague Charlie 12, and I kept firing until I was absolutely certain there was no further threat. 'I could not believe what had just happened. To be frank I was numb with shock because of the horror of what had occurred. 'There was a relief that we were still standing and we had stopped an attack.' I was convinced we were about to die. I fired and so did my colleague Charlie 12, and I kept firing until I was absolutely certain there was no further threat C2 C5 adds: 'When the gunshot rang out my first thought was, we were going to blow up. This is it, there's an explosion, we're going to die. 'Then, a fraction of a second later, I thought, we're still here. It was a strange feeling. I felt kind of euphoric. It was weird, this adrenaline feeling of like, we have survived. 'But there was no celebration or anything. We knew we had taken a life. It's a horrible thing. 'I felt for both the officers, C2 and C12, what they had to do. 'In that time, everybody was running off the Tube in mass panic, they were running and leaving their phones. 'We felt we were going on war footing from the bombings. We were under attack. And, you know, I think everyone else did as well. 'People had a heightened sense of what was going on around them. Could there be another bombing and could they be victims of it?' 'Something was not right' C2 was taken away from the scene in an unmarked police car, while C5 volunteered to stay to help an explosives officer in plain clothes check the body for bombs. Charlie 5 remembers: 'There were no devices. We laid him on the ground so I could check for vital signs. 'He found a wallet and it had ID in it. The name on the ID was Jean Charles de Menezes. 'It wasn't the name of the subject, so along with the fact that he didn't have a device on him things just didn't seem to add up for me at that time. 'I didn't want to say this to anybody because I didn't want to start rumours, but in the back of my mind I started to feel something was not right.' C2 says: 'By the time I'd got home I was aware there was speculation regarding the identity of the person I had killed. I didn't get any sleep, and I still had massive tinnitus, a very, very loud ringing in my ears. "Next day I caught the Tube back to work and I was called into the chief superintendent's office. He told me that the man I shot was completely innocent. 'I can't describe how I felt, it was the worst feeling ever. I killed an innocent man and I now know who that man is. I can't describe how I felt, it was the worst feeling ever. I killed an innocent man and I now know who that man is C2 "I am responsible, and I accept responsibility. As a firearms officer ultimately the decision to use force is yours. "But why were we in that position? Those people in command put me in that position, they also have to answer." The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge either C12 or C2 with any offence and they returned to duty. C5, who retired from the police in 2013, says: 'Twenty years on I think about this frequently. It's always in the news somewhere. It is burnt into my subconscious. 'I don't think I have PTSD over it. I was a seasoned firearms officer. My training experience part-prepared me for mentally dealing with things. 'It has taken a lot of processing over the years. I think people forget, we're family men and we're trying to protect the public, not harm them.' The Metropolitan Police made changes in the wake of the tragic shooting at Stockwell. C5 says: 'There's a lot more fail-safe put in place in identifying suspects and communications have improved. 'Could it happen again? 'There's always a human element of errors so yes, it's possible, but hopefully not with all the fail-safe they have now.' Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 bombers is on Netflix from July 1. 12 Matozinhos Otone Da Silva and Maria Otone de Menezes, the parents of Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes, at the scene of the shooting in Stockwell Tube station Credit: PA 12 An emotional Patricia da Silva Armani, cousin of Jean Charles de Menezes, at a press conference around the time of the inquest into his death Credit: EPA 12 Jean Charles's cousin Alessandro Pereira delivers a letter and a photograph to 10 Downing Street Credit: Reuters
The Sun
01-07-2025
- The Sun
I gunned down Jean Charles de Menezes – then was told we'd got wrong man…it was worst moment, says cop in ONLY interview
IT'S almost 20 years since electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead on a packed London Tube carriage in a tragic case of mistaken identity. The capital was on high alert as four suicide bombers were on the run after a failed attack on the transport system the day before, which saw police and MI5 launch the biggest manhunt of modern times. 12 12 12 12 A terrible error led to armed police officers following Brazilian Jean Charles, 27, onto the London Underground at Stockwell, south London on the morning of July 22, 2005. Two of them – codenamed C2 and C12 - killed him with seven bullets to the head. Now C2, who fired five shots, has spoken out for the first time to apologise to his family - admitting he wishes he could turn back the clock. He tells a Netflix documentary which drops today: "I would say to Jean Charles' family I'm sorry, that I and another officer were put in a position where we killed your son. "I would do anything to roll back time, to have a different set of circumstances where that didn't happen. That should not have happened.' In the four-part series - Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 bombers - C2 appears with his face hidden under a baseball cap and a hoodie. He says: 'I have never spoken about this publicly. This will probably be the only time that I will talk about it, rather than take it to my grave.' A third firearms officer, Charlie 5, witnessed the killing, and two decades later the events of that fateful morning are burnt into his subconscious. Just two weeks after four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters and wounded more 700 others on July 7, four terrorists planned to carry out copy-cat bombings on three tube trains and a bus. But the 21/7 bombers failed to detonate their devices because the hydrogen peroxide mixture they had used as explosive was too weak. Instead the would-be bombers dumped their backpacks and fled. A gym membership card left in one of the backpacks led cops to one suspect, Hussein Osman. Anti-terrorist police and specialist firearms officers quickly had the block of flats in Scotia Road, Tulse Hill under surveillance. Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, also lived there. 'Critical shot' 12 12 12 Police marksman C5, who by then had been on the firearms squad for nearly 10 years, recalls: 'We were told, 'Today you may be called upon to use unusual tactics.' 'I think someone said, 'What do you mean, like critical shot?' 'And he said, 'All I'll say is don't question anything you're told because you will not have the full picture.' 'They gave us already-loaded fresh magazines with hollow-point ammunition. 'We were told that some of the devices could be small, like a suicide vest. It could be a belt with a bomb in it. It could be a coffee jar size that could go in a pocket. 'When we left there, we were under no illusion how dangerous these bombers were. I have never spoken about this publicly. This will probably be the only time that I will talk about it, rather than take it to my grave C2 'We were told they were highly motivated, determined and deadly. We were also told we would only be used if one of the subjects was identified as one of the bombers.' He adds: 'For whatever reason, there had been some sort of cock up in the OP [Operational Support] van. 'Normally they would have had a good opportunity to take a photograph and could have said there and then if it was or wasn't him.' The other problem was that instructions had to come from a control room at Scotland Yard, instead of the unit's own commanders at SO19 – which led to long delays. 'Edgy' On the morning of July 22, Jean Charles de Menezes was followed from his home as he boarded a bus to Brixton, where he got off, and then got back on again because the Underground station was closed. To police surveillance teams he appeared to be acting suspiciously. He then got off at Stockwell Station, which had been the suicide bombers' point of entry to the Tube network the previous day. C5 tells The Sun: 'It was looking more and more likely this was the subject. Over the radio he was described as edgy. 'In my head I kept thinking, it's escalating. At some point I felt we would have to intervene. 'Then, of course, we got those immortal words, 'He must not be allowed to get on that Tube under any circumstances'. In my head I kept thinking, it's escalating. At some point I felt we would have to intervene. Then, of course, we got those immortal words, 'He must not be allowed to get on that Tube under any circumstances' C5 'We were deployed. As far as we were concerned, it was a positive ID. 'I remember going down the Tube, down the escalators, thinking, we're going to be too late, and the train's going to go in the tunnel, and I'm going to see a big flash, a big explosion.' C2 remembers: 'He's a minute, maybe two minutes ahead of me. So I had to run. 'I'm thinking I cannot believe that we have allowed this situation to develop. 'We've allowed someone we believe is a suicide bomber into the tube network. To have a device on him. To initiate that device. 'My only way in was to leap over the barrier. I remember chasing down the escalator. I pulled my weapon and I put it behind my back. Charlie 5 says: 'It was a nightmare scenario because we all knew we'd lose radio comms. 'C2 and C12 were in front of me. We were not shouting 'Armed police'.' Charlie 5 admits: 'I've been involved in quite a few shooting incidents but nothing like this. 'It was one of those days where you had to step into the arena, deal with what was in front of you and do what needed to be done.' 'Numb' The underground carriage was still standing at the platform. C5 entered through the single door at the end. He says: 'At the inquest there was only about 17 people shown in the carriage at the time but it was absolutely jam-packed. 'It had been sitting on the platform for probably four or five minutes, and people just kept getting on. 'I remember having to push my way through people moving through the carriage trying to identify the suspect, looking, where is he? 'As I got to the doors my two colleagues were there, so I knew I was in the right carriage. I was aware of someone standing up to the left.' Shots rang out. C2 says: 'A surveillance officer already in the carriage indicated who the subject was. 'I was convinced we were about to die. I fired and so did my colleague Charlie 12, and I kept firing until I was absolutely certain there was no further threat. 'I could not believe what had just happened. To be frank I was numb with shock because of the horror of what had occurred. 'There was a relief that we were still standing and we had stopped an attack.' I was convinced we were about to die. I fired and so did my colleague Charlie 12, and I kept firing until I was absolutely certain there was no further threat C2 C5 adds: 'When the gunshot rang out my first thought was, we were going to blow up. This is it, there's an explosion, we're going to die. 'Then, a fraction of a second later, I thought, we're still here. It was a strange feeling. I felt kind of euphoric. It was weird, this adrenaline feeling of like, we have survived. 'But there was no celebration or anything. We knew we had taken a life. It's a horrible thing. 'I felt for both the officers, C2 and C12, what they had to do. 'In that time, everybody was running off the Tube in mass panic, they were running and leaving their phones. 'We felt we were going on war footing from the bombings. We were under attack. And, you know, I think everyone else did as well. 'People had a heightened sense of what was going on around them. Could there be another bombing and could they be victims of it?' 'Something was not right' C2 was taken away from the scene in an unmarked police car, while C5 volunteered to stay to help an explosives officer in plain clothes check the body for bombs. Charlie 5 remembers: 'There were no devices. We laid him on the ground so I could check for vital signs. 'He found a wallet and it had ID in it. The name on the ID was Jean Charles de Menezes. 'It wasn't the name of the subject, so along with the fact that he didn't have a device on him things just didn't seem to add up for me at that time. 'I didn't want to say this to anybody because I didn't want to start rumours, but in the back of my mind I started to feel something was not right.' C2 says: 'By the time I'd got home I was aware there was speculation regarding the identity of the person I had killed. I didn't get any sleep, and I still had massive tinnitus, a very, very loud ringing in my ears. "Next day I caught the Tube back to work and I was called into the chief superintendent's office. He told me that the man I shot was completely innocent. 'I can't describe how I felt, it was the worst feeling ever. I killed an innocent man and I now know who that man is. I can't describe how I felt, it was the worst feeling ever. I killed an innocent man and I now know who that man is C2 "I am responsible, and I accept responsibility. As a firearms officer ultimately the decision to use force is yours. "But why were we in that position? Those people in command put me in that position, they also have to answer." The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge either C12 or C2 with any offence and they returned to duty. C5, who retired from the police in 2013, says: 'Twenty years on I think about this frequently. It's always in the news somewhere. It is burnt into my subconscious. 'I don't think I have PTSD over it. I was a seasoned firearms officer. My training experience part-prepared me for mentally dealing with things. 'It has taken a lot of processing over the years. I think people forget, we're family men and we're trying to protect the public, not harm them.' The Metropolitan Police made changes in the wake of the tragic shooting at Stockwell. C5 says: 'There's a lot more fail-safe put in place in identifying suspects and communications have improved. 'Could it happen again? 'There's always a human element of errors so yes, it's possible, but hopefully not with all the fail-safe they have now.' Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 bombers is on Netflix from July 1. 12 12 12 12
Daily Mail
22-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Firearms officer who shot dead Jean Charles de Menezes says he would do anything to turn back time as he apologies to his grieving family
A retired firearms officer who shot dead an innocent electrician mistaken for a suicide bomber has issued an apology to his grieving family. Almost two decades after the tragedy, one of the two marksmen who killed Jean Charles de Menezes has spoken publicly about the shocking murder for the first time. The 27-year-old was shot dead in the head by two officers at London 's Stockwell station on July 22, 2005 having been wrongly identified as failed July 21 bomber Hussan Osman in the aftermath of the 7/7 London bombings. Now, in an emotional statement, one of his killers has expressed how he wishes to say 'sorry' to Mr Menezes' family, adding that he 'would do anything to roll back time, to have a different set of circumstances where that didn't happen'. Speaking in a four-part Netflix documentary set to be released next week, the policeman, codenamed C2, reflected on the tragedy, adding: 'By the time I got home I was aware there was speculation regarding the identity of the person I had killed. I didn't get any sleep, and I still had massive tinnitus, a very, very loud ringing in my ears. 'The next day I caught the tube back to work and I was called into the chief superintendent's office. He told me that the man I shot was completely innocent. I can't describe how I felt, the worst feeling ever, I killed an innocent man'. The firearm officers, who had only been given a 'ten-second glimpse' of the real target prior to the botched operation, had tracked Mr Menezes down while on his way to work. The electrician had been wrongly identified by surveillance teams as Osman as he lived in the same block of flats in Tulse Hill, south London. After being given the go-ahead by bosses for armed deployment, Mr Menezes was shot seven times in the head at point-blank range in a packed carriage during the morning rush hour. All 17 eyewitnesses confirmed that he had not behaved aggressively or suspiciously and made no attempt to flee police. But initial reports wrongly claimed he had vaulted station barriers while wearing a bulky jacket, fuelling assumptions he was a threat. C2, who shot dead the innocent man with six bullets after his colleague initially opened fire, said that he 'accepts responsibility' for the tragic murder, but questioned 'why were we in that position?' in the first place. Calling on those who instructed him to shoot Mr Menezes to acknowledge their role in the tragedy, he added: 'Those people in command put me in that position, they also have to answer'. Meanwhile, the other firearms officer involved, named only by his cypher C12, reflected on the awful tragedy during a Channel 4 documentary released late last year. The former officer choked back tears as he described the moment he first pulled the trigger while on the stationary train. He said: 'He (Mr Menezes) just got up and immediately turned to his right, which is where we were, and came towards us. The electrician had been wrongly identified by surveillance teams as Hussan Osman (pictured) as he lived in the same block of flats in Tulse Hill, south London. Pictured: Osman's gym membership card found in a rucksack at the site of the failed bombing on July 21, 2005 'At the same time I brought my weapon up and pointed it at his head and I shouted 'armed police. 'At that stage in my head, this person knew who we were. This person was coming forward in order to detonate a bomb and kill us.' C12 said he had suffered in the two decades after the shooting, with the trauma remaining a 'weeping sore' on his life. For Mr Menezes' heartbroken family, there is no apology or remorse that could help relieve the pain of their loss nearly 20 years on. The young man's two cousins, Patricia Da Silva Armani and Vivian Figueiredo, who were sharing a flat with him at the time of his death, acutely remember the agony of finding out he had been wrongfully killed. Ms Figuieredo, who realised Mr Menezes had not come home that night, initially believed he had simply been arrested due to being suspected of terrorism. Speaking to The Mirror, she said: 'I was shocked. But I also had hope. It was just a matter of going to the police to clarify everything.' But the reality was to be far worse. The pair were then taken to a police station, alongside their two other cousins, Alex Alves Pereira and Alessandro Pereira, where they were later told of the devastating tragedy. Ms Armani, who had last seen her beloved cousin just two days prior, said: 'My English wasn't great and I didn't understand a lot of what they were saying. I only understand the last part - "He is dead". Still, I didn't think I heard right. 'I went into total despair. Everyone was crying and screaming.' Despite the family's pursuit of legal action, no officers were charged for Mr Menezes' murder, although the Metropolitan Police was found guilty of health and safety failures. After an inquest into the death returned an open verdict, the force was fined £175,000 over the botched operation and the de Menezes family agreed an undisclosed settlement in 2009. Ms Figueiredo, who said that her 'whole world fell apart' when Mr Menezes was killed, described her cousin as a 'happy person' and an 'extrovert' that simply 'wanted to help people and make his family proud'. She added: 'I remember him all the time but especially at times when I wished he were still here, like when my daughter was born. He'll never be forgotten'. Meanwhile, Mr Menezes' 80-year-old mother Maria previously told the Mirror that she has made peace with the officers who took her son's life. Speaking from her home in Brazil, she said: 'I forgive, but I cannot accept what they have done because they destroyed my son's life. 'But I've come to realise that I don't want to keep this hatred inside my heart. I believe those people who made the mistakes will pay for it somehow. 'They have souls, and I have entrusted it to God, as to what will happen to them. But I don't want this hatred for myself anymore, because I don't want this to destroy me.' In a previous statement the Metropolitan Police said that the tragedy occurred 'at a time of unprecedented terrorist threat to London'. 'No officer sets out intent on ending a life. Our sole purpose is the protection and preservation of life, and we have taken extensive action to address the causes of this tragedy.
Daily Mirror
22-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
I killed an innocent man over mistaken identity - I'd do anything to change it
The firearms officer, codenamed C2, killed the innocent Brazilian with six bullets after his colleague initially opened fire, after the pair had followed the 27-year-old electrician into Stockwell tube station wrongly believing he was a would-be suicide bomber One of the two marksmen who shot Jean Charles de Menezes has spoken about the tragedy for the first time – 20 years after one of Britain's worst police blunders. In an emotional admission he accepted responsibility for the innocent Brazilian's death and apologised. He said: 'I would say to Jean Charles' family that I am sorry, that I and another officer were put in a position where we killed your son. I would do anything to roll back time, to have a different set of circumstances where that didn't happen.' Jean Charles, 27, died after he was pinned down and shot in the head by two officers who mistook him for a suicide bomber in a tube train at Stockwell station, South London, on July 22, 2005. The incident followed heightened tensions a fortnight after 7/7 when 52 people were killed, and a day after would-be suicide bombers tried to detonate more devices on London's transport network. Speaking in a four-part Netflix documentary released next week, the policeman, codenamed C2, remembered: 'By the time I'd got home I was aware there was speculation regarding the identity of the person I had killed. I didn't get any sleep, and I still had massive tinnitus, a very, very loud ringing in my ears. 'The next day I caught the tube back to work and I was called into the chief superintendent's office. He told me that the man I shot was completely innocent. I can't describe how I felt, the worst feeling ever, I killed an innocent man and I now know who that man is.' C2 killed the electrician with six bullets after his colleague initially opened fire. He said: 'I am responsible, and I accept responsibility. As a firearms officer ultimately the decision to use force is yours. But why were we in that position? Those people in command put me in that position, they also have to answer.' His apology is of little comfort to the de Menezes family. Among those are Jean Charles' cousins, Patricia Da Silva Armani and Vivian Figueiredo, who he was sharing a flat with at the time. Speaking to us, Patricia, 51, remembers the last time she saw her younger cousin alive, two days before he died. READ MORE: 'There are three of us in our marriage - me, Gem and the 7/7 bomber' She said: 'I'd just got back from work and he was getting ready to go out. We had coffee together, and he told me about a new job he was going to start on the Friday, putting in electrical installations in a building. He'd been washing dishes in a restaurant until then. 'He was really excited about it, the happiest I'd ever seen him. It was well paid and he felt his life was finally on the way up. 'He said goodbye and went to leave but for some reason when he got to the door he turned round and came and gave me a big hug and a kiss. 'We were close but that took me by surprise. I said to him, 'Oh, how delicious!' Now off you go to work' and he went. The next time I saw Jean was at the morgue.' Jean was on his way to the new job on the Friday morning when police started following him, believing he was one of the four men who had failed to detonate bombs on the capital's transport system the day before. One of the terrorists, Hussein Osman, lived in the same building as the three cousins. Patricia and Vivian heard about the shooting on the news, and later that the suspect had been an innocent Brazilian, but they never imagined it was Jean. Vivian, 42, woke up the following morning, still unaware. 'Everything was so silent at the house. I knocked on Jean's bedroom door, no answer,' she said. 'So I slowly opened the door. The bed was made, everything was neat and tidy. I just thought, 'Jean probably didn't come home last night'.' But then there was a knock at the door from two of Jean's friends who police had visited in the early hours. 'They told them he was suspected of terrorism and had been arrested,' she recalled. 'I was shocked. But I also had hope. It was just a matter of going to the police to clarify everything.' Vivian and Patricia were taken to the police station, where two other cousins, Alex Alves Pereira and Alessandro Pereira, were already waiting. Patricia remembered: 'Alex was really agitated. He kept saying, 'They f***ed up, they f***ed up'. He'd already joined the dots, I thought he had been arrested. They took us to a room and sat us down around a table. 'My English wasn't great and I didn't understand a lot of what they were saying. I only understood the last part – 'He is dead'. Still, I didn't think I'd heard right. 'I turned round to one of the others and he took my hand. His hand was freezing. He told me Jean was the Brazilian who had been shot dead. I went into total despair. Everyone was crying and screaming.' They were then taken to the morgue to identify Jean Charles' body. Patricia recalled: 'He was already arranged and dressed up. That's when I became ill and fainted. The next thing I remember is me sitting on a sofa with a policewoman trying to calm me down. 'I later heard that Alex and Vivian barged into the room and grabbed Jean's body. So it was very tense.' The family pursued fruitless legal action and no officers were charged, although the Met was found guilty of health and safety failures. Patricia added: 'For months I lived in shock. I wasn't able to hear a police siren without shaking. I'd get scared whenever I see policemen on the street. Even today when I'm on the tube, I'm constantly thinking about how I should escape if anything happens. 'For the first years, I thought about Jean every day and I would cry every day. This year has brought back a lot of the trauma and painful memories.' Vivian, now married with a daughter, Luna, says: 'I was just 22 and had been in the UK three months when Jean died. I was just a countryside girl and he was my safety, so when I lost him my ground went from under me. My whole world fell apart. 'I didn't really have time to grieve because we had to deal with all the bureaucracy, the polemic and the injustice. I don't know how I survived.' She says she now wants to remember the way Jean lived his life, not the way he died. 'He was such a happy person, an extrovert who would laugh and joke and got on with everyone. He was a dreamer. He wanted to make the best use of his life but above all he wanted to help people and make his family proud. 'I remember him all the time but especially at times when I wished he were still here, like when my daughter was born. He still appears in my dreams, the Jean we loved and knew so well. He'll never be forgotten.'
