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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Menezes officer relives shooting | Menezes officer relives shooting |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A covert policeman told a court that he had two guns pointed at him by fellow officers after Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead on a Tube train. | |
| Surveillance officer "Ivor" was holding onto Mr Menezes when armed police on the train killed the Brazilian. | |
| Ivor, whose identity is protected, told the Old Bailey he was wearing virtually the same clothes as the suspected suicide bomber on 22 July 2005. | Ivor, whose identity is protected, told the Old Bailey he was wearing virtually the same clothes as the suspected suicide bomber on 22 July 2005. |
| The Metropolitan Police deny breaking health and safety laws. | The Metropolitan Police deny breaking health and safety laws. |
| Two elite firearms officers shot Mr Menezes, an electrician, seven times on a train at Stockwell Underground Station fearing he was one of the men responsible for the previous day's failed suicide bombings. | |
| Ivor, who was carrying a rucksack at the time of the shooting, told the hearing that it was a "shocking incident". | |
| His superior officer, codenamed James, was worried that Ivor could have been shot as his attire was so similar to Mr Menezes. | |
| Pursuit | |
| The prosecution allege the Metropolitan Police put the public at risk by allowing their suspect to travel from his home to the station before they intervened. | |
| One of the suspects was linked to the block of flats where Mr Menezes lived. | |
| The Metropolitan Police say that officers did their best in extraordinary circumstances - and that while the shooting was a mistake, it was not a crime. | |
| Ivor told the court he was one of the surveillance officers who followed Mr Menezes after he left his home and headed to Stockwell station. | |
| I heard a gunshot very close to my left ear. I was hit by the shockwave of a firearm being discharged Ivor | |
| He said he joined the same London Underground train as the Brazilian and sat a few seats away as armed police rushed onto the platform. | |
| He told the court how he prevented the train door from closing and identified Mr Menezes to two armed police. | |
| Although he had never met the officers, Ivor told the jury that he recognised them from their weapons and from what he knew of the unfolding operation. | |
| "I shouted he's here and indicated to Mr Menezes with my right hand," he told the court. | |
| "I then heard shouting including the word 'police'." | |
| 'Pinned down' | |
| Pausing to warn family members of the evidence he was about to give, Ivor said he saw Mr Menezes stand and advance. | |
| He judged that he could have been a suicide bomber preparing to detonate a device - and that he needed to restrain him. | |
| "I grabbed Mr Menezes by wrapping both my arms around his torso, pinning his arms against his sides," he said. | |
| "The right side of my head was against his torso, pushing him back into his seat. He appeared to stiffen up and he was not in a natural sitting position. | |
| "I felt his head turn towards me and I was aware of a CO19 [firearms] officer kneeling on the seat to my left. | |
| "I heard a gunshot very close to my left ear. I was hit by the shockwave of a firearm being discharged." | |
| The scene was extremely violent, extremely noisy, obviously distressing - with members of the public emptying the carriage Ivor | |
| Ivor told the court how he was then dragged away by one of the armed officers. | |
| Within seconds he had a long-barrelled gun "levelled against my chest" and a pistol against his head, he said. | |
| "I held out my hands and shouted 'police'," said the covert officer. | |
| "It's worthy of note that I was dressed virtually identically to Mr Menezes. Denim jacket, denim jeans." | |
| The officer said he was also carrying a rucksack, unlike Mr Menezes who only had a newspaper. | |
| Only when he had been dragged against the platform wall and was able to produce his chequered police cap did the danger to him pass, he said. | |
| "I could hear several gun shots, screaming," he told the court. | |
| "The scene was extremely violent, extremely noisy, obviously distressing - with members of the public emptying the carriage. There was gun smoke. It was an obviously shocking incident." | |
| Asked in cross-examination why he had moved to alert the firearms officers, he said: "My actions were instinctive, based upon a genuine attempt to protect the public." | |
| The case continues. |