Tempus Fugit

There have been some developments in the case of the Brazilian man who was killed by British police on a subway car after he ran from them.

First, a possible reason for his flight from the police has been revealed.

However, the Home Office said on Thursday that he had been in Britain on a student visa that ran out on June 30, 2003, and it had no record of another visa application. It also raised questions about whether Mr. Menezes had a forged stamp in his passport. These issues could explain why he might have run when challenged by the police.

NY Times: Family of Man Slain by London Police Challenges Official Account

This rather takes the wind out of the sails of the people who denied that he ran, or who said that he was playing a game of hide and seek with a friend. If he was in the country illegally, that gives him motive to run from the police.

The family of Mr. Menezes is pretty much saying that the whole thing is a lie.

His family maintains that Mr. Menezes was not wearing a bulky jacket that could have hidden a bomb when police officers chased him in the Stockwell subway station in south London, Harriet Wistrich, a lawyer representing the family, said in an interview on Thursday. Mr. Menezes’ relatives also question the police account that he jumped the turnstile as officers pursued him.

NY Times: Family of Man Slain by London Police Challenges Official Account

How bulky does a jacket have to be to hide a bomb? A sweatshirt might do it. And certainly a denim jacket (as some are reporting that he was wearing) could have hidden a bomb. Regarding the turnstile… what… did he stop running, get out his card, swipe his card, and calmly walk through? People saw him running outside the station. People saw him running inside the station. Come on… use some common sense. His family is denying that he jumped, but they’re denying everything, including that he was in the country illegally.

Obviously, a lot of people are upset by this incident. The man’s only apparent crime was fleeing from the police. Under normal circumstances, deadly force wouldn’t be used to stop the perpetrator. Menezes, however, had a lot of things going against him. He was coming from a building being watched for potential terrorist activity. He was wearing a jacket. He ran from the police. He ran into the subway, where several bombings had recently taken place in the city. All these variables came together, and the police acted on them. It’s tragic. I wish the cops had approach him before he boarded the bus to head to the tube. I wish the cops had waited until they were able to physically contain him before identifying themselves. I wish Menezes hadn’t run from the police.

I’m still tentatively supporting the police on this one. Hindsight is 20/20, but they had to act on instinct when he started running. One thing that would change my mind is if it comes out that the police did not identify themselves as policemen before attempting to detain him, as some are alleging. But if they did identify themselves, and he ran anyway, he’s not exactly innocent. You can talk about tasers and rubber bullets and all the ways of non-lethal takedown, but those all presume that it is a planned takedown. They didn’t know he was going to head for the tube and that they were going to have to detain him. When a subject being monitored for potential terrorist activity just runs, and runs towards the recent favorite of terrorist targets, you don’t go to your van to charge your taser. You get after him and take him down. Now, 8 shots is a bit much, but I believe there were many policemen chasing him, so those bullets could be one or two per gun, which isn’t unreasonable.

It’s likely that this story will be developing significantly over the next few months, so your opinion (and mine) might be changing. Remember how bad the Rodney King takedown looked at first? Then it came out that he repeatedly physically assaulted the officers and refused to stay down. If all you see is the part where the cops hit him with their nightsticks, you see a totally different story. So let’s keep an open mind on this one, eh?

Update: More details have come out, and I’ve changed my opinion on the matter.