London police face charges in Brazilian subway shooting case News
London police face charges in Brazilian subway shooting case

[JURIST] British officials from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) [official website] who are investigating the killing of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, who was mistakenly shot by London police last year after the London bombings [JURIST news archive], plan to charge the officers who oversaw the operation with tampering with evidence and obstructing public justice. De Menezes was killed by police [JURIST report] on the London subway on July 22, 2005 after being mistaken for a suicide bomber. Police surveillance officers are accused of trying to hide the fact that they had mistaken de Menezes for alleged terrorist Hussain Osman [BBC summary of charges] by changing a police log to read "And it was not Osman" instead of "it was Osman."

The change was allegedly made so that surveillance officers could claim the officers involved in the shooting had fired on the wrong man despite having been warned that he was not Osman. De Menezes' family has pushed for a public inquiry into the shooting and have brought a separate case against Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair [profile], claiming he misled the public in statements following the tragedy [JURIST report]. Sophie Goodchild of the Independent has more.