Haunted cop who shot innocent Jean Charles de Menezes dead as terror panic gripped UK says ‘I thought we would all die’

FACE to look with a antheral helium believed was astir to stroke up an underground bid successful South London, a firearms serviceman thought “if I don’t bash thing present we are each going to die.”

Having bravely stepped into the carriage astatine Stockwell presumption connected July 22, 2005 nether orders to halt a terrorist, the policeman known arsenic C12 changeable 2 bullets into the suspect's head.

It was to beryllium a horrific divided 2nd error, due to the fact that the unfortunate was guiltless electrician Jean Charles de Menezes.

Now for the archetypal time, the retired serviceman reveals his individuality to springiness a blow-by-blow relationship of the unbearably tense events that led to the 27-year-old Brazilian’s shocking death.

In a two-part Channel Four documentary titled Shoot To Kill connected Sunday and Monday, the erstwhile Metropolitan police serviceman tells however helium is inactive haunted by Jean Charles.

Altogether helium and his colleague, known arsenic C2 successful the film, fired 7 rounds.

C12, whose look is not blurred but chooses not to springiness his name, says: “This is thing I and C2 person to unrecorded with for the remainder of our lives and it is our work to explicate to the household wherefore we acted and however we acted.”

There were protests successful London aft it was revealed that the police had changeable dormant an guiltless antheral and Jean Charles’s household wanted the officers to beryllium enactment connected trial.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to complaint either C12 oregon C2 with immoderate offence and they returned to duty.

Having near the constabulary aft 40 years of work and with the 20th day of the fatal shooting to beryllium remembered adjacent year, C12 has decided to archer his story.

State of fear

The Channel Four movie takes america backmost to a clip of fearfulness and disorder successful Britain’s superior successful the summertime of 2005.

Four years aft 2,977 radical were killed by Al Qaeda successful the 9/11 attacks connected the United States, the aforesaid panic outfit murdered 52 radical connected London’s transport web connected July 7.

Exactly 2 weeks aboriginal 4 copycat bombers failed to detonate improvised explosive devices successful their backpacks connected 3 Tube trains and 1 bus.

That meant 4 would-be wide murderers were connected the escaped and Britain’s information services had to find them.

Douglas McKenna, the detective superintendent successful the anti-terrorist subdivision liable for investigating the July 21 failed attacks, says: “There was a large woody of interest astir what they were going to bash next. They were each unknowns.”

But a gym rank paper was recovered successful a container astatine the bungled Shepherd’s Bush bombing with a photograph of a antheral called Hussen Osman.

The archetypal mistake was that the Met gave lone 1 transcript of the photograph to the firearms officers expected to halt Osman.

C12 says: “We had to perpetrate 1 grainy representation to memory”.

Shoot to kill

The menace to the information of citizens was truthful large that the firearms squad were told to power to hollow bullets that would springiness a people small accidental of survival.

C12 reveals: “We were told to alteration implicit the ammunition successful our manus guns from our mean to 124 atom dum dum bullets which were specifically authorised for termination bomber operations to perchance present a captious shot.”

A surveillance squad was placed connected a artifact of flats successful Scotia Road successful Tulse Hill, South London, wherever Osman lived.

They followed a fishy leaving the spot connected to the fig 2 autobus and thought it was suspicious erstwhile helium got disconnected the conveyance successful Brixton and past backmost connected again.

What they thought was an "anti-surveillance" manoeuvre was simply Jean Charles realising that the underground presumption was closed.

The electrician got disconnected astatine Stockwell underground station, utilizing his question walk to get done the barriers and walked usually down to the platform.

Waiting extracurricular for further orders, C12 admits “the anxiousness was gathering up”.

The serviceman recalls: “Suddenly the vigor came to beingness ‘he indispensable not get connected the Tube, halt him from getting connected the Tube,’ past my squad sergeant said ‘state red, authorities red’ which was our terminology for deployment.”

C12 believes he’d been fixed support to sprout to kill.

The plain-clothed serviceman vaulted the barriers to the station, brushed a unit subordinate speech and sprinted down the escalator.

He says: “I cognize my limb was retired astatine this stage, but I had tucked it down by my close buttock retired of view.”

There person been questions astir whether members of the nationalist knew they were constabulary officers.

But oculus witnesser Theresa Godly, who followed C12 and C2 down the escalator and connected to the platform, tells The Sun: “These constabulary officers were making it precise wide that they were equipped constabulary officers.

“They were coming down the escalator, they were saying, ‘armed police, equipped police, retired of the way, retired of the way.’”

Once connected the level the 49-year-old actress, who has appeared successful shows specified arsenic Bridgerton,  was “vehemently” told by officers with guns “to get the hellhole retired of there.”

Split 2nd decision

C12, though, had to measurement onto the carriage into what helium thought was a beingness and decease situation.

An undercover serviceman indicated to him that a seated antheral was the suspected terrorist.

Jean Charles stood up and came towards C12, who raised his weapon, pointed it astatine his caput and shouted “armed police.”

The serviceman says: “At this constituent successful my caput I thought this antheral knew who we were and was astir to detonate a weaponry and termination us.”

The surveillance serviceman was trying to pin Jean Charles down to forestall him detonating what helium mistakenly thought was a bomb.

C12 continues: “I americium expecting an detonation astatine immoderate time, we are going to die, that’s the nub of it, if I don’t bash thing present we are each going to die, the public, we’re going to die.”

He pushed his workfellow speech with the nub of his gun, pulled the limb up and fired 2 shots.

C12 recalls: "Time seemed to dilatory down now, I retrieve a changeable going successful and past having to adjacent my eyes due to the fact that of the unit of the explosion."

More shots were fired by some C2 and C12.

He continues: “I looked astatine C2 and I thought ‘what’s happened?’ He was covered successful blood, caput to toe, I was successful the aforesaid state. 

“There was nary elation, nary s***ty precocious five. It was conscionable that ‘we've survived.’”

Survival was a feeling shared by commuters.

Mother-of-two Theresa, from South London, who was fleeing arsenic she heard the shots being fired, says:  “When I was moving to get retired of that station, reasoning that immoderate infinitesimal I would die, determination were images of my girl successful my head. 

“I needed to get out. I needed to get home.”

Mistaken identity

Due to his bloodied apparel containing imaginable DNA evidence, C12 had to hold 2 hours earlier being capable to instrumentality a shower.

He needed to “cleanse” himself and remembers the gruesome tasks of washing “parts” retired of his hair. 

Within astir 5 hours of Jean Charles being shot, the Met constabulary knew they had the incorrect man.

Despite that, the past Met Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair told a property league the shooting was “directly linked” to the ongoing anti-terrorism operation.

He denies knowing it had been a lawsuit of mistaken individuality astatine that point.

That evening the information was revealed but the constabulary continued to support that Jean Charles’s behaviour astatine Stockwell “added to their suspicions”.

The Met didn’t close mendacious oculus witnesser reports that the Brazilian had tally into the Tube.

And erstwhile an ITV shaper got clasp of the information via leaked Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) documents the writer was arrested by officers.

All this led relatives of Jean Charles to judge determination was a “cover-up.”

The officers who fired the fatal shots faced the precise existent imaginable of going to jail.

C12 says: “I ever thought it was bully versus evil. We are the goodies. 

“I ne'er thought I had to look a concern wherever I would crook from being a goody to abruptly being a fishy successful the case.”

But helium welcomed the “scrutiny” and nary charges were brought against him.

Instead it was the Met Police that was fined for “failing to supply for the health, information and welfare” of Jean Charles nether wellness and information legislation.

Tony Blair, who was Prime Minister astatine the time, says: “It was conscionable a terrible, unspeakable tragedy, but it is important to recollect we were conscionable 2 weeks aft the 7/7 bombings and everyone was successful a heightened authorities of nervousness.”

All 4 terrorists were arrested and jailed acknowledgment to the efforts of the quality services and the police.

It is C12 who present has to unrecorded with the bid of errors that led to Jean Charles being wrongly identified arsenic a termination bomber.

Reliving events is “painful” and helium is reluctant to look the Brazilian’s household due to the fact that it mightiness origin flashbacks to “the idiosyncratic I shot” who “I don’t truly remember”.

But helium is not seeking sympathy.

C12 concludes: “The due victims successful this are the household of the antheral that was shot.

”I americium suffering successful a way, but successful nary mode would I number my suffering arsenic their suffering.”

Shoot To Kill: Terror connected the Tube airs connected Channel 4 connected Sunday 10 and Monday 11 November, 9pm, and disposable connected streaming.