Britain: No one to be held accountable for police murder of Jean Charles de Menezes

On July 22, 2005, Jean Charles was shot on a tube train at Stockwell station by an anti-terrorist squad that was investigating the failed explosions on London’s transport system the previous day.

From the moment it became clear the police had killed an innocent man, all the machinery of a cover-up was set in motion. However, so public and brutal was the manner of Jean Charles’s death that it appeared at least someone would have to be held to account.

Instead, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has rejected any criminal proceedings against any of the officers directly involved in the shooting and those who commanded them on the spurious basis that there is “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.”

To add insult to injury, the CPS has said that the Metropolitan Police will instead face prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for “failing to provide for the health, safety and welfare” of Jean Charles. In response, the police complained that they were “clearly disappointed” that any case at all was to be brought against them.

A “failure of care”?

The degree of contempt implied by this decision is hard to convey. The Health and Safety Act is more normally associated with workplace regulation and controlling dangerous substances and emissions. Even should the prosecution prove successful, the most the Metropolitan Police faces is a fine that would ultimately be paid by the taxpayer.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/mene-j19.shtml