In the face of severe criticism over the disastrous execution of an innocent man, Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, the London's police force has come out swinging especially after Deputy PM Prescott and Home Secretary Clarke defended the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair. It looks like the Brits want to maintain stiff upper lip as their form of serious damage control. They may have learnt how to kill people from Israelis, but they must have learnt how to be thick skin and tough it out from Malaysians.
After reviewing its shoot-to-kill policy it has decided to leave it largely unchanged, probably to demonstrate the policy was not wrong in the first place. Yes, stiff upper lip and all that, and they should see it through, old boy.
Aren’t the police the same all over the world, from Malaysia to London. They would brace themselves against criticism for a short while, after which the public’s interests would be diverted elsewhere, probably to new events.
Now, can anyone still remember the American Congressman whose intern was his secret lover (another Monica Lewinsky?)? An Jewish American girl, she disappeared during a period when she and the Congressman had an extra-curricular relationship. The scandalous relationship and her probable murder made US headlines for a while until 9/11 happened. Again, there was the usual denials. But today there is hardly any recollection of the sordid tale. Probably the only people who still want to know the truth is her family.
Back to the Brits - However, the police conceded they have made one or two small changes, but the operation remains essentially the same. This could mean the next bloke would be shot with 6 rather 7 bullets in the head.
The criticism has been not so much against the shoot-to-kill policy but more about the correct identification, and worse, the lies that the police made, to demonise de Menezes – the bullsh*t about him wearing bulky clothing, running away when challenged by police, vaulting a barrier to escape the police, electrical cables seen protruding out of his body and nostril, etc were all utterly untrue – SHEER LIES to hide the terrible mistake in the police execution of an innocent man.
Then Ian Blair made the most disgraceful comment that could come out of a Police officer's mouth. He told reporters:
"Tragic as the death of Mr Menezes is, and we have apologised for it and we take responsibility for it, it is one death out of 57."
One death out of 57!
Blair has belittled the souls of the 56 victims of the London bombing by exploiting their tragic deaths to excuse the police from their draconian execution of an innocent man. He seems to have forgotten that the 56 were murdered by terrorists, while de Menezes was murdered by the police, yes, the law! It's an absolute disgrace that he brushed off de Menezes tragedy as another terrorist statistic attributed to terrorists, when it's his organization and himself who must answer for that crime.
Ian Blair's excuse that he didn't know the full facts when he made the initial allegations comprising the lies about de Menezes has blown up in his face, for not only the de Menezes family but several media commentators riposted correctly that the Police Chief then shouldn't have made such demonising allegations about the police victim when he didn't have the facts; additionally it was incompetent of him as a Police Chief not to have known the facts of a fatal police shooting for 24 hours.
Do you believe for one moment that in the midst of a hunt for the London Tube bombers, the London Police Chief didn't know the facts of a fatal police shooting for 24 hours and yet could make such a terrible accusation of de Menezes? Ian Blair must decide whether he was lying or he was utterly incompetent!
But worst of all, even when it was already known that de Menezes was an innocent man, the Police Chief Ian Blair allowed the lies to continue without even making any effort to correct them. And don't forget, he tried to stop and then delayed the independent inquiry. Only those guilty don't want others probing into their crimes.
That is why Ian Blair should go.
He made those lies, he didn't correct them and he allowed them to be perpetuated. That, is totally unforgiven.
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