The 80-year-old mother of a man shot dead in a Tube station by police who mistook him for a terror suspect says she will continue to fight for him and "show the world the truth". Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder by two police marksmen in Stockwell underground station on July 22, 2005. His family have flown to London ahead of a new Disney+ four-part UK TV drama which looks at the events surrounding the 27-year-old's death.
The Metropolitan Police says the shooting is a matter of very deep regret. "Our thoughts remain with his family and we reiterate our apology to them," a spokesperson stated. Ahead of the 20th anniversary of her son's death, Maria de Menezes told BBC News she never wants to see other mothers suffer in the way she has. She hopes the drama series will portray her son's true character and shed light on his story. "I was reassured that the truth was being told," she says. "They were going to be truthful about the story unlike other media outlets and other reports previously which told lies."
Maria expressed her frustration with early reports that inaccurately depicted her son as a suspect who jumped barriers and assaulted police. "It really annoys me because I know him. He came from me... My son was educated, civilised, who always respected law and order," she said. The drama series, titled Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, is told from multiple perspectives and examines what happened to the Brazilian electrician before, during, and after he was pinned down by officers and shot.
His brother, Giovani da Silva, stated that their family were consultants during the making of the series and believe the full story will now become clear to the world. "We are very happy that the truth about my brother's life is being told. The life of struggle, his roots in rural Brazil and how he moved to another country in search of a better life," he said. Mr. de Menezes was killed the day after failed bombing attempts on the London transport network, two weeks after the 7/7 bombings in central London.
No officers were prosecuted for the killing, but the Met was fined for breaching health and safety laws. In 2016, the family lost a human rights challenge over the decision not to charge any police officer for the fatal shooting. The Metropolitan Police says the circumstances around his death "came at a time of unprecedented terrorist threat to London". A spokesperson said the force had been subject to numerous public inquiries, including two separate reports by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (now the IOPC). "No officer sets out on duty intent on ending a life. Our sole purpose is the complete opposite – the protection and preservation of life – and we have taken extensive action to address the causes of this tragedy," the spokesperson added.
The drama has been written and executively produced by Jeff Pope, who says it's been five years in the making. "It's taken an awful long time and there's a reason for that, because it's a huge responsibility and wasn't something that you could short-circuit. It was an incredibly difficult piece to wrangle and understand what you wanted to say. It was enormously important to speak to as many people as possible and to do the research. Every last detail," Pope noted.
The family says the loss of Jean still echoes in their hearts. His cousin, Vivian Figueiredo, who breaks down in tears during the interview, says Jean's mother will never give up. "It's just the obligation that she feels to fight for justice for him. She's 80, she just left this small town in Brazil, the other side of the world, to come here just to fight for him," Vivian said. "The police should really be careful, not just suspect and kill because a life is priceless." Towards the end of the interview, Vivian looks at her aunt and tells her she's brave. Maria hugs her and says: "It's not about being brave. It's about fighting, fighting to live."
The drama series Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is set to be available on Disney+ from April 30, 2025.
Michael Mansfield QC posed a critical question to Cressida Dick, then deputy assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, during the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes. "Everybody's human. Mistakes can be made… But you are really not prepared to say that any mistake [was made] here, are you?" The inquest took place in 2008, three years after his shooting on the morning of July 22, 2005, which was 15 days after the 7/7 bombings in London and one day after copycat bombers had attempted to detonate explosives on the transport system.
De Menezes was a 27-year-old Brazilian man living in London, an electrician on his way to work, with a travel card in his pocket and a copy of the free newspaper Metro tucked under his arm. He was completely unconnected to terrorism, not carrying a bag or rucksack, and was simply wearing jeans and a thin denim jacket. The inquest showed that the surveillance operation had been confused and rushed from the start – with officers in the wrong place at the wrong time.
During the inquest, Mansfield pointed out that firearms officers needed to stop and challenge the suspect (De Menezes, mistakenly identified as a missing terrorist) but were still being briefed at a police station as late as 9 AM. He suggested that Dick's orders to officers on the ground were always one step behind events. When she had said De Menezes should not be allowed to enter Stockwell station, he already had. When she had said he must not be allowed to get on a train, too late – he already had.
At every juncture on his route from home to tube train that morning, the firearms officers were not in position to intercept or challenge him. Finally, they managed to arrive at Stockwell station a minute or so after De Menezes. Mansfield asked Dick why these armed officers hadn’t been in position earlier, and why they weren’t waiting for such a dangerous suspect when he left his flat. But she insisted that they did incredibly well to get to the station in that time, given the circumstances.
On July 22, 2005, the police had a lead from a gym card belonging to Hussain Osman, which led them to a block of flats connected to one of the fugitive terrorists. Surveillance was arranged, but it was poorly executed, with only one officer monitoring the area. This lack of adequate surveillance contributed to the tragic outcome. Just before 10:06 AM, the firearms team finally caught up with De Menezes. Witnesses reported seeing armed officers storm the train and shoot him seven times in the head.
In the aftermath, Dick stated that she never gave the authority for a "critical shot" to be taken, meaning the officers were not authorized to shoot De Menezes without warning. However, the officers involved claimed they shouted a warning before shooting him, a claim disputed by other passengers who were present at the time.
The family of De Menezes continues to seek justice and clarity regarding the events of that day. They believe that the police's actions were a result of incompetence and that the truth about what happened must be told. The drama Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes aims to shed light on this tragic incident and its aftermath.
