Family Targeted by Undercover Police After Fatal Shooting of Innocent Man
A cousin of Jean Charles De Menezes, the innocent Brazilian electrician shot dead by Metropolitan Police marksmen in 2005, has described her shock at learning that undercover officers subsequently spied on her family's campaign for justice. Patricia Armani Da Silva told a public inquiry on Thursday that she felt "chilled" and "deeply upset" by the revelation.
Bungled Anti-Terror Operation Leads to Tragedy
Jean Charles De Menezes, aged 27, was shot seven times in the head at Stockwell underground station in South London on July 22, 2005. The shooting occurred the day after police mistakenly identified him as a suspect in a failed terror attack on the transport network. Would-be suicide bombers had targeted London on July 21, but their devices failed to explode.
Metropolitan Police chief Sir Ian Blair initially stated the shooting was "directly linked" to anti-terror operations. Scotland Yard later admitted De Menezes was killed by mistake, but police failed to correct false accounts that he had vaulted ticket barriers while wearing a heavy jacket.
Undercover Surveillance of Grieving Family
The Undercover Policing Inquiry heard on Thursday that the Met Police deployed "multiple" undercover officers to spy on the De Menezes family's justice campaign. Ms Armani Da Silva, 52, said in a statement: "I know from disclosure that [undercover police officers] did attend meetings so they would have seen me and heard me speak."
She added: "The very thought of their presence is chilling and disturbs me...it upsets me deeply knowing the MPS killed Jean and then had the audacity to send officers to find out what we were saying or if we had managed to find out what they had concealed."
Family Misled and Isolated After Shooting
Ms Armani Da Silva became tearful as she described how her family was not informed of Jean Charles's death for over 24 hours. "I feel very bad about that. I feel like there's a negligence, it was 27 hours until I knew about his being killed. I feel really disrespected, there was no communication," she told the inquiry through an interpreter.
The family was initially told De Menezes had been arrested for terrorism offences. "That’s when the lies had started — they already knew Jean had been shot and killed. The police never contacted us directly," she said.
Officers took UK-based family members to a hotel in Kingston, South West London, where phone lines were removed from their rooms. "When we were in the hotel we were surrounded by the police. It wasn't that we couldn't go outside but they said there's a lot of media out doors, it would be better if you don't approach them. I believe it was a kind of manipulation," Ms Armani Da Silva testified.
False Narratives and Ongoing Pain
Counsel to the inquiry, Nazmeen Imambaccus, outlined false information reported after the shooting, including claims that De Menezes was under terror investigation, refused police instructions, acted suspiciously, and vaulted a tube barrier. "I was angry, I was upset, I couldn't believe…Even now, talking about this again, it brings back memories about how I felt then and how I feel now, the pain, the anger, mainly because of the lies, we knew they were lying to us," Ms Armani Da Silva said.
Justice Campaign and Legal Outcomes
The family campaign sought justice for Jean Charles and to uncover the truth of his killing. No officers were prosecuted for the shooting, though the Met was fined for breaching health and safety laws. In 2016, the family lost a human rights challenge over the decision not to charge any police officer.
The current inquiry examines the Metropolitan Police Special Demonstration Squad's activities from 1993 to 2007. It has also heard allegations of undercover officers using identities of dead children to infiltrate political campaigns and spying on other justice campaigns, including that of Stephen Lawrence's family.
