A Euphemism to Far
We are fond of our euphemisms. 'Shoot to kill' has been used in the media instead of execution or assassination throughout the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland. It is being revived now.
"I heard a lot of shouting, 'get down, get out'. I saw a chap run on to the train, an Asian guy. He was running so fast he sort of tripped. He was being pursued by three guys. They were plain-clothes policemen. One had a black handgun. As he went down, two dropped on to him to hold him down. The other one fired; I heard five shots. I can't tell where they shot him - he was surrounded - possibly to the head.........As the man got on the train I looked at his face. He looked from left to right, but he basically looked like a cornered rabbit, like a cornered fox. He looked absolutely petrified."
(Words of Mark Whitby, eye-witness to the police execution of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Underground Station in The Independent 23.07.05)
Jean Charles de Menezes's family and friends must be horrified, find incomprehensible that which has befallen him while working in Britain. To them I offer my sincerest condolences. The Brazilian community living in London are now probably wondering about their safety. The vibrancy and colour they have brought and added to the polyphonic mix of London will now be subdued. Not for long I hope.
Jean Charles de Menezes's crime? Not having an Anglo-Saxon complexion and leaving housing where there were suspected 'terrorists'.
There were enough stories of assaults and people being robbed by gangs around Stockwell Underground Station to make anyone nervous when I was living in London. If he was aware of being followed, Jean Charles de Menezes had nowhere to turn for help. Despite the numbers of people, Stockwell and its Underground Station is mostly an anonymous space with few, if any regular faces and the area would have been cleared of uniformed police to allow the undercover officers freedom to operate. Being chased, "petrified", with adrenaline pumping and a 'gang' yelling at him, his confusion must have known no bounds. Finally stumbling when realising he was cornered on the train. An innocent man hunted down and executed by the British Police. There is nothing more horrifying to contemplate. The why and who of the fear he endured immediately prior to his death, Jean Charles de Menezes will never know.
It comes as no surprise to me that Jean Charles de Menezes looked "absolutely petrified", "........ like a cornered rabbit, like a cornered fox". Any innocent person seeing themselves followed and threatened by at least 8 people (in some radio reports) whom they didn't know, would be scared and try to run and escape.
In the previous post I wrote about an undercover police operation directed against me but didn't go into much detail of the tactics used to try and spook me, during a relapse of the MS, when I was just trying to go about my business. Undercover only from the general public, not the target. I won't go into detail now, but for a period there were at least 6 plain-clothes police working me at anyone time. Invading personal space; creating confrontations; bragging of killing as they walked passed; threats of being 'slapped'; glaring and spitting; pictures being taken by camera phone; tracked by CCTV etc.
These tactics by the police are designed to 'petrify' and cause the 'target' to run. Once running they can either follow to find out contacts (friends and family) or, thinking they have their suspicions confirmed by the act of running, intervene physically. In Jean Charles de Menezes case - execute.
It is not to far fetched to think the SO19 firearms unit are stupid enough to employ tactics similar to the ones I've described when tracking suicide bombers. If the police genuinely believed Jean Charles de Menezes was a suicide bomber they could have tried to spook him. Let him know they are there. Force him to respond fearfully, disrupt a pattern or plan and intervene physically, thinking no doubt to minimise any casualties. The problem with this is that a genuine suicide bomber will detonate on being spooked, killing no one knows how many, whilst the innocent will run.
The killing of Jean Charles de Menezes has exposed police execution squads operating on the streets of London, who define their enemy as anyone without an Anglo-Saxon complexion and who may live/work/play in the vicinity of suspect 'terrorists'. The response from the British Left and Trades Union Movement has to be one of solidarity with British Asian, Black British and other 'non-white' communities as never before in confronting this level of intimidation.
"I heard a lot of shouting, 'get down, get out'. I saw a chap run on to the train, an Asian guy. He was running so fast he sort of tripped. He was being pursued by three guys. They were plain-clothes policemen. One had a black handgun. As he went down, two dropped on to him to hold him down. The other one fired; I heard five shots. I can't tell where they shot him - he was surrounded - possibly to the head.........As the man got on the train I looked at his face. He looked from left to right, but he basically looked like a cornered rabbit, like a cornered fox. He looked absolutely petrified."
(Words of Mark Whitby, eye-witness to the police execution of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Underground Station in The Independent 23.07.05)
Jean Charles de Menezes's family and friends must be horrified, find incomprehensible that which has befallen him while working in Britain. To them I offer my sincerest condolences. The Brazilian community living in London are now probably wondering about their safety. The vibrancy and colour they have brought and added to the polyphonic mix of London will now be subdued. Not for long I hope.
Jean Charles de Menezes's crime? Not having an Anglo-Saxon complexion and leaving housing where there were suspected 'terrorists'.
There were enough stories of assaults and people being robbed by gangs around Stockwell Underground Station to make anyone nervous when I was living in London. If he was aware of being followed, Jean Charles de Menezes had nowhere to turn for help. Despite the numbers of people, Stockwell and its Underground Station is mostly an anonymous space with few, if any regular faces and the area would have been cleared of uniformed police to allow the undercover officers freedom to operate. Being chased, "petrified", with adrenaline pumping and a 'gang' yelling at him, his confusion must have known no bounds. Finally stumbling when realising he was cornered on the train. An innocent man hunted down and executed by the British Police. There is nothing more horrifying to contemplate. The why and who of the fear he endured immediately prior to his death, Jean Charles de Menezes will never know.
It comes as no surprise to me that Jean Charles de Menezes looked "absolutely petrified", "........ like a cornered rabbit, like a cornered fox". Any innocent person seeing themselves followed and threatened by at least 8 people (in some radio reports) whom they didn't know, would be scared and try to run and escape.
In the previous post I wrote about an undercover police operation directed against me but didn't go into much detail of the tactics used to try and spook me, during a relapse of the MS, when I was just trying to go about my business. Undercover only from the general public, not the target. I won't go into detail now, but for a period there were at least 6 plain-clothes police working me at anyone time. Invading personal space; creating confrontations; bragging of killing as they walked passed; threats of being 'slapped'; glaring and spitting; pictures being taken by camera phone; tracked by CCTV etc.
These tactics by the police are designed to 'petrify' and cause the 'target' to run. Once running they can either follow to find out contacts (friends and family) or, thinking they have their suspicions confirmed by the act of running, intervene physically. In Jean Charles de Menezes case - execute.
It is not to far fetched to think the SO19 firearms unit are stupid enough to employ tactics similar to the ones I've described when tracking suicide bombers. If the police genuinely believed Jean Charles de Menezes was a suicide bomber they could have tried to spook him. Let him know they are there. Force him to respond fearfully, disrupt a pattern or plan and intervene physically, thinking no doubt to minimise any casualties. The problem with this is that a genuine suicide bomber will detonate on being spooked, killing no one knows how many, whilst the innocent will run.
The killing of Jean Charles de Menezes has exposed police execution squads operating on the streets of London, who define their enemy as anyone without an Anglo-Saxon complexion and who may live/work/play in the vicinity of suspect 'terrorists'. The response from the British Left and Trades Union Movement has to be one of solidarity with British Asian, Black British and other 'non-white' communities as never before in confronting this level of intimidation.
posted by les at 23:29
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