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Graphic eye-witness accounts emerged at Menezes inquest
12 Dec 2008The moment when armed policemen stormed a Tube train and shot dead Jean Charles de Menezes was described vividly by commuters.
Passengers - many speaking in public for the first time - told the inquest how their journeys were shattered by gunfire and bloodshed.
None recalled hearing the officers identify themselves as police, and several spoke of their panic that the gunmen who entered their carriage might have been terrorists.
Ralph Livock was a little nervous when he set out with his girlfriend, Rachel Wilson, on the morning of July 22 2005.
The previous day a terrorist had attempted to detonate a bomb on an Underground train at Warren Street in central London, where he worked.
And a fortnight earlier four suicide bombers had succeeded in murdering 52 innocent people on the capital's public transport network.
Nonetheless, like millions of other Londoners determined that the terrorists would not win, Mr Livock and Ms Wilson continued to use the Tube.
That morning the couple got on a Northern Line train at Clapham North station in south London. Their carriage - the second from the front - was fairly empty.
They picked up a copy of the free Metro newspaper lying on an unoccupied seat opposite them and laid it down on their knees so they could both read about what had happened the day before.
The train pulled into Stockwell station - the next on the route - and stopped there for longer than normal.
Unexpected delays like this are not unusual on the London Underground, and the passengers were not unduly concerned.
While the train was waiting, Mr de Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian electrician on his way to a job in north London, got on and sat down directly opposite Ms Wilson.
A minute or so later shouts came from outside the carriage and a group of stocky gun-wielding men rushed on board.
They were wearing jeans and T-shirts, and the couple at first assumed they were playing a game - albeit one that was in very bad taste considering the previous day's events.
It also occurred to Ms Wilson that they could be terrorists.
Mr Livock recalled that one of the gunmen silently pointed a pistol at the man in a denim jacket sitting opposite his girlfriend, who would later turn out to be Mr de Menezes.
The Brazilian did not appear frightened but seemed to be waiting for someone to tell him what was happening, he said.
Then all of a sudden the gunman started firing at Mr de Menezes and Mr Livock ran for one of the doors of the carriage.
He turned back to see the Brazilian slumped to one side and his girlfriend still in her seat with the newspaper on her lap and her hands splattered with blood.
The couple ran across to the nearby Victoria Line and caught another train heading north.
The next station, Vauxhall, was closed because of a security alert but they got off one stop further on at Pimlico.
Along with about six other people who had been on the Stockwell train, they went to a local pub, where the landlord called the police so they could make statements.
In fact Mr de Menezes had been shot by two of the plainclothes police marksmen, who believed he was a suicide bomber about to detonate his device and kill everyone around him on the train.
One of the officers - identified only as C12 - spoke of his fears when he started work on July 22 that he might not return from the operation alive.
But in the end the only person on the train who never got home that day was the young Brazilian.
Reader views (3)
The one absolute in eye-witness accounts is that they are ALWAYS subjective (look the word up, I'd suggest). To say that such accounts are uncontentious is simple tub-thumping - or ignorance - on the part of those looking to tear down the police regardless.
There was a lot going on in London at the time, if anyone would care to remember. Of course mistakes were made. That is the nature of the beast. That is what the terrorists want. Those who want perfection do not seem to have much of a grasp on reality, in my less than humble opinion.
There's a big difference between the emotional impact of a tragic event like this one, and cold, hard reality.
- Rogan, Irving, 12/12/2008 18:54
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A shameful day for the judicial system, but at least the jury had the backbone to stand up and give as clearest verdict they were allowed to.
- Colin Munro, Devon, Uk, 12/12/2008 18:29
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"Policing by consent" is supposed to be the guiding mantra of the Metropolitan Police but in the light of this incident, it will be difficult to retain the confidence of the public.
The commitment and braver of the police officer is not to be questioned, and nobody is interested in a witch hunt but the poor management of the senior police staff coupled with the failure to follow standard operating procedures is only exacerbated by the lack of accountability. An innocent man is dead and NOBODY in the higher echelons of the Metropolitan Police appears to be responsible and that is unacceptable!
- Manny Goldstein, London, UK, 12/12/2008 16:03
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