Are the police above the law? Who was responsible for the De Menezes shooting if it was not the police?

Answer 1

I think the police are fully to blame and should be punished like everybody else

Answer 2

Having read the Wikipedia entry, and having been in the RAF and been familiar with rules of engagement, I don't understand why someone is not being prosecuted. Eleven rounds fired over a thirty second period, with seven hitting De Mendez in the head and shoulder smacks of a panic response (bear in mind that a stray shot to the torso could detonate any bomb which the suspect may be carrying). It hinges entirely on whether or not the police believe that he was an immediate deadly threat, and given the manner in which they identified him as a suspect I would be very dubious about the validity of such a defence. If they can convince a court of this, then there will probably be no action taken.
I feel for De Menezes' family, and given that this is an international incident with political ramifications I would have hoped that a more thorough investigation would have been prudent.

Additional: -

Respect to Simon D (above). I couldn't agree more. When the police were issued with CS sprays for a trial, to be used in life or death situations, incidents were recorded such as a pensioner sitting in his car at the kerbside being sprayed directly in the face from a few inches. He wasn't armed. All he did was question why he was being asked to get out of the car. He was then dragged from the car and handcuffed. Armed response should be left to the special units.

Answer 3

They are not above the law. They have to believe that it is necessary to shoot to save life. That can be an extremely difficult decision to make in fractions of a second.

Turn your question round. If an armed officer had been able to shoot the 9/11 pilots or the 7/7 suicide bombers on the tube or the bus are you saying they should not have done so in case they were wrong?

These brave police officers take extreme risks to make the country safe knowing that if they do have to shoot someone, even if it is totally justified they will undergo a thorough investigation. Worse they go into it knowing that whilst risking their life there are many people out there who will run them down and vilify them.

If the police listened to such lines as yours many more innocent lives would be lost.

Where you ask who was responsible I would point out that a small part of the responsibility must rest with the victim as he was in the country illegally and therefore should never have been there to be at risk.

There is not and never will be an easy way to handle the decision to shoot or not to shoot in that sort of situation and which ever way it goes these brave men should have our support and sympathy for the job they are doing and the terrible responsibilities they have to carry every working day to ensure the public safety.

Answer 4

The idiots in government responding to fear-mongering about terrorists.

The British Special Forces have used exactly the same rules of engagement for the past 50 years, successfully.
As a military unit operating in both military and civilian zones (incl. in the UK) they respond to definite and unequivocal threats with deadly force.
The British Police Force should never have been given the responsibility and (half-baked) training reserved for specialist military units. They got it badly wrong, and will continue to get it badly wrong for as long as they remain operational.
These operations need to be handled with the utmost professionalism.
The Army kills people, the Police protect people.

The well trained sniper/gun units of the UK police worked well responding to emergencies when called in by unarmed policemen/woman who had tried and failed to calm the situation.

The stupid American system of policing has claimed it's first and nearly it's second very public casualty in the UK.
May it be forever the last. It is an unacceptably stupid, pig-ignorant and counter-productive system.
This system will have it's vocal adherents the more guns are on our streets, and the more civilians and Police are injured or killed. Once we accept the system, we have lost the battle anyway.

Answer 5

Are the police above the law? - You goddamn right they're above the law - just ask the US Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and US Supreme Court - Every day this country is turning more into a police state - real citizens should be concerned. I know I'm scared s-less

Answer 6

Tragic though it was I feel the police were in an impossible position at the time, given what was going on in London. I understand he was scared, but if you run from armed police in the wave of terrorist attacks, the consequences are pretty clear. They aren't above the law, and shouldn't be, but they are human, and the bombings must have affected them too.

Answer 7

There was a frenzy at the time possibily designed to take attention away from the Iraq war. Thankfully this is behind us now in the past where it belongs.

Answer 8

The Clintons

Answer 9

Ooh thats a very contraversial question and it's gonna stir up quite a hornets nest

Answer 10

the government is voted for by us and they say they are doing what we want
so if they are then we are responsible

if they are doing what they think we want or what they think is whats good for us then they are via there lackys the police