BBC: Free holiday for shooting officer

[Taxloss]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4720979.stm

A police officer involved in the fatal shooting of an innocent Brazilian man at a London Tube station has been given a holiday paid for by Scotland Yard.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair personally authorised the break for the officer and his family.

Jean Charles de Menezes was shot eight times at Stockwell on Friday after fleeing three undercover officers who mistook him for a suicide bomber.

The body of Mr Menezes, 27, is due to be flown back to Brazil on Wednesday.

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I know I've disagreed with people here about this killing, but I am shocked by this development. Aghast.

[SoCalDem]

1. "Holiday" is probably like a "paid suspension" would be here

There are terms that don;t "translate" well.. This is probably one of them..:(

[Taxloss]

3. The piece doesn't mention a suspension, simply a transfer to

non-firearms duties while the IPCC inquiry gets under way.

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. Jeez, what next?

a free trip to Disney World like they do for the kids who win the Olympics? I can't wait to see the commercials. I just shot a man who wasn't a terrorist and now we're going to Disney World. Whippee.

[Spider Jerusalem]

4. Oughtn't he to be suspended without pay pending the enquiry?

This seems a bit much.

[Taxloss]

5. Absolutely. Sir Ian really is a swine, isn't he?

Tch.

[Spider Jerusalem]

6. Well, it seems a poor call on his part, to say the least.

He seems to be having trouble finding a line between admitting error and saying the officers did nothing wrong...and just when I'd thought that the situation was being handled fairly well, too.

[Taxloss]

7. I agree, the man's a public relations disaster.

I can't forget the unforgiveable manner in which he went out of his way to scare Londoners whenever he was given the opportunity before the attacks. Irresponsible cant.

[Spider Jerusalem]

8. And he's not exactly inspired confidence since, either.

Saying things like "more innocent people could be killed" and so on...and now this...

[Taxloss]

9. He strikes me as being power-crazed, unstable.

I really loathe him.

[Spider Jerusalem]

11. Any odds he'll be sacked, d'you think?

Or will it take another attack to make enough people think he's incompetent to deal with the situation that something's done?

[Karenina]

19. THAT statement...

[kansasblue]

10. holiday is like vacation

"are you on holiday?" is like are you on vacation.

[ClintonTyree]

12. Originally they said he was shot 5 times..............

now I find it was 8, seven point blank into the head. This was an execution, not an innocent case if mistaken identity. This officer should be suspended without pay pending further investigation. I can plainly see why the people of Brazil are so upset about this situation.

[SouthernDem2004]

13. Wouldn't that make him guilty until proven innocent? How about

time off with pay or light duty not involving weapons. That would be more reasonable.

[Karenina]

14. They're not the only ones...

:scared: :hide: :scared:

[daleo]

15. It also gets him out of the way

This way journalists can't ask messy questions.

To be fair, he may also need to lie low due to possible retribution for the shooting, from various likely sources. Still, a temporary transfer to police work in the Outer Hebrides would have looked better than a paid holiday. Sometimes it feels like the authorities are just rubbing it in.

[damntexdem]

16. Hey, I have an idea: he should spend his holiday in Rio.

I'm sure he'd LOVE a stay in Brazil.

[Karenina]

17. Taxloss, if you would be so kind

to indulge my concerns and perspective, I should be very much indebted to you.

I grew up black in "White Amerika," having integrated the school I attended at 7. Please understand that ALL any white-skinned kid had to do was point at me and pronounce me GUILTY. It was up to me, my parents or my supportive peers who knew the truth to PROVE my innocence. I have been found guilty of DWB through Beverly Hills; stopped for having a registration which was "about to expire."

This "incident" has me absolutely beside myself. Should I dare travel to London, a hop, skip and jump from my adopted home, and a trip I've been eagerly planning, I feel at risk that anyone could ID me as a "violent extremist" from wherever- without proper "intelligence" or noting my body language, speech pattern, dress, OR WITH proper intelligence that shows CLEARLY I should be excluded from any "suspect list." The POLICY says I can be shot in the head with impunity. When it is discovered later that I am a BIG FAN of the King Singers, LEGALLY in country to attend a concert, NOT from a "suspect" country, the response morphs to "innocents may be executed, can't be helped."

Please, dear one, help me with this.

[Karenina]

18. Kick!

:kick:

[pitohui]

20. standard is it not?

the officer is no doubt traumatized and does not need to be working right now

such leave would probably be given in the usa as well

this is a tragedy and the officer who shot a man thinking he was saving many lives only to find he shot an innocent has a lot of recovery ahead of him

we call it being suspended with pay in the usa

but it's the same thing, different words

doubt this will be any pleasure cruise for the man

[LisaL]

21. He shot the victim 8 times. One bullet would have been enough.

I don't know what he was thinking when he shot the victim, but this was clearly an overkill.
I don't think he just "doesn't need to be working right now". He doesn't need to be working on a police force ever again.

[pitohui]

22. think i'll let investigators determine that

as i don't know how many times i would shoot someone i thought was trying to bomb innocent people

you are required to stop such a person and not let sentiment get in the way

hindsight says one bullet would have been enough, but training says you continue shooting until you're certain threat is stopped

one bullet to head or 8, an innocent is dead

we are imperfect

terrible tragedy for all

what troubles me is that the man could have been intercepted and inspected earlier

methinks supervisor rather than shooter may bear more blame for a bad decision

hate to see the little guy take all the heat

suspension with pay until investigation is complete is the proper action to my mind