Cop admits 'failings'

2008-10-21 22:12

London - Obvious "failings" led to the shooting of an innocent Brazilian man who was mistaken for a suicide bomber, a senior British policeman said at an inquest Tuesday.

The surveillance officer, identified only by the code name James, said Jean Charles de Menezes could have been stopped safely before he was killed on July 22 2005.

De Menezes, a 27-year-old electrician, was shot seven times in the head in a London Underground station after being mistaken for Hussain Osman who, the day before, had unsuccessfully tried to bomb a train.

Osman's attempt came two weeks after a series of attacks in London in which 56 people died, including four suicide bombers.

Asked by lawyers representing De Menezes's family whether there had been a lapse in communication between officers on the ground and those in a control room, James replied: "Sir, there obviously were failings."

Control room took too long

He added that officers had the resources to stop De Menezes safely before he was shot, but those in the control room took "too long" in telling officers trailing the Brazilian whether or not to stop him before he boarded an Underground train.

On Monday, the inquest heard that another surveillance officer, identified as Frank, had not filmed De Menezes walking past his van because he was urinating at the time.

Frank insisted, however, that he managed to get a good look at the Brazilian as he was leaving his flat in south London.

He told the inquest that though he had initially thought De Menezes was not Osman, he later changed his mind and told the control room "he's worth another look".

- AFP