De Menezes officers in new fatal shooting

By Fred Attewill
The Guardian
Nov. 02, 2006

Police marksmen who were involved in the shooting of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes on the tube last year took part in an undercover operation in Kent this week in which another man was shot dead.

The officers are members of Scotland Yard's CO19 firearms unit, who were supporting Flying Squad detectives attempting to stop a suspected armed robbery at a building society bank branch in New Romney on Tuesday evening.

Last night, police would not last night go into detail about the incident, although the unnamed man, 42, reportedly opened fire first with a shotgun. The Independent Police Complaints Commission has begun an investigation after taking over an initial inquiry by Kent police.

Three men were arrested as part of the Kent operation and last night were being questioned by detectives.

De Menezes, a 27-year-old electrician, was shot several times at point blank range at Stockwell tube station, south London, when he was mistaken for a suicide bomber the day after attempted bombings in the capital.

The Met last night confirmed that the CO19 team at Kent included officers at Stockwell, but would not comment on a report in the Daily Mail which said that one of the officers who fired on De Menezes shot the man.

The firearms officers were placed on restricted duties after De Menezes's death but after being told this summer they would not face criminal convictions they were restored to their previous roles.

The Met described the Kent operation as "proactive", and designed to "prevent and apprehend" those believed to be carrying out an attempted armed robbery of the building society.