Police chief wanted to quit
2005-09-21 00:00
London - Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair said on Wednesday he had considered resigning after the killing of a Brazilian electrician shot by police who mistook him for a terrorist suspect.
Undercover police shot Jean Charles de Menezes seven times in the head and once in the shoulder after following him on to an underground train on July 22, the day after four failed bomb attacks on London's transit system.
Two weeks earlier, four suspected suicide bombers killed 52 commuters in similar attacks.
Blair has apologised for Menezes' death and denies a cover-up in the investigation. He says police must have the right to shoot to kill in some cases.
He told BBC television he'd taken criticism of the police seriously.
Asked if he had considered resigning, he responded: "Yes. If somebody makes those comments, you are not just going to brush it off.
"No one in their right mind would be arrogant enough to rule it out."
But, he said he had not come very close to stepping down, "because the big job is to defend this country against terrorism. That is what we are here to do."
- AP