Metropolitan Police firearms officers were issued with special ‘instant kill’ bullets to use against innocent young Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes on 22 July 2005, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.
Giving hooded evidence in the health and safety trial of the Office of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, a senior firearms advisor, called just ‘Andrew’, said C019 firearms officers were armed with bullets used by US air marshals that ‘immediately incapacitate’ the victim.
He added that the decision was made to help police chasing the failed July 21 suicide bombers, who were still at large.
‘Andrew’ was Acting Superintendent on the day of the Stockwell operation.
He told the court that he chose to issue hollow point 124 grain bullets, which hit the victim but do not come out the other side.
The ‘soft’ bullets explode in the brain, while the standard issue, more powerful ammunition, 9mm jacketed soft point bullets, would pass through the other side, he said.
Jean’s cousin Alex Pereira told News Line yesterday: ‘It’s completely wrong that they took this decision.
‘Even in war, these kind of bullets are illegal.
‘They set out to kill someone.
‘They killed Jean knowing he wasn’t any kind of danger. We still want the police to go on trial for murder.
‘They chose to kill him, they prepared the scene. They knew he wasn’t carrying anything so it was murder.
‘We are waiting for this trial to end then we can have an inquest.’
The supervising officer had told the court yesterday: ‘The bullet flattens on impact and immediately incapacitates the target.
‘This is a more effective bullet in the context of dealing with a suicide bomber as there is more chance of incapacitating a subject with a single shot.
‘A direct to brain stem shot is the only way to incapacitate a subject.
‘You need a bullet that dumps all its energy into the subject.’
Previously in the trial, the court heard from surveillance officers, who followed Jean Charles from his flat to Stockwell Tube station and into a train carriage, where the young man was held down on a seat while firearms officers pumped seven bullets into his head at point blank range.
This was despite police failing to positively identify him as a terror suspect.
