London Indymedia

New terror in the tube as cops get trigger happy

nbe | 23.07.2005 16:22 | Anti-militarism | Repression | Social Struggles | Terror War | London

The driver of the train which was the scene of a brutal police slaying on friday morning was himself chased by armed terror police who held a gun to his head as he tried to get away from terrifying 'shoot to kill' attack.

The driver started running as passengers fled from Stockwell Tube station following the shooting of a man it has since been revealed was unarmed.

According to officials from the train drivers' union Aslef, the train driver was chased by police who on catching up pointed a gun at his head.

Hearing about this outrageous behavior by armed cops given orders to shoot to kill, many train drivers have been understandably reluctant to continue working normally, the union's London officer Steve Grant has reported.

He said this incident highlights the tense atmosphere that his members are having to cope with since the 7th July attacks.

Apparently police have since apologised, which I am sure will have made the driver involved feel much better.

So, with armed tigger happy homicidal cops running around London we now have something else to worry us. We are therefore forced to raise the unofficial terror alert to 'dont run!'.

This highten security level means - don't wear bulky or baggy items of clothing if you are dark skinned - if you see police, walk at a resonable pace away from danger - whatever you do, do not run!


Saturday July 23, 07:11 AM


Tube driver had gun pointed at head

The driver of the London Underground train involved in the latest terrorist scare was chased by armed police and had a gun held to his head as he tried to escape the scene of today's shooting, union officials have claimed.

The driver started running along an underground tunnel as passengers were fleeing from Stockwell Tube station following the shooting of a suspect.

He was followed by police who briefly held a gun to his head, according to officials from the train drivers' union Aslef.

When other drivers heard about the incident they were reluctant to continue working normally, said Steve Grant, the union's London officer.

He said the incident highlighted the tense atmosphere staff were having to cope with during the present crisis.

Mr Grant said police had since apologised about the incident.

 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/050722/344/fnze5.html

nbe

Comments

Hide the following 10 comments

Right wing death squad in Tube rampage

23.07.2005 17:34

.........reports of South American style death squads operating freely on Londons underground network after a a gang of gun totting gangsters chased a young man into Stockwell Station, he probably thought he would be safe in the crowded ticket hall but that was not the case as he was pursued down the escalator and pushed into a trian where he was summarily executed with five shots to the head. The gang then began to harass people who had witnessed the murder and are reported to have threatened the driver with omerta ....

Zoro


f-face

23.07.2005 17:52

What is it going to be like in winter, are people going to go out on the streets in t-shirts ?

Is anyone running from the police now a target to shoot and kill?

f-face


Oh spare me, Zoro!

23.07.2005 23:10

"South American style death". Your comments are an insult to the memory of anyone who was ever murdered by a "death squad", may they rest in peace!

A fatal mistake maybe, a question of manslaughter maybe. There will indeed be much soul-searching on the part of the police. But how lucky you are not to be in their shoes and to have to make these kinds of decisions...

artaud


Maybe another theory.....

24.07.2005 09:43

Any death is of course regrettable, but with apologies to the freinds and family of the dead man if indeed he does turn out to be completely unconnected with acts of terror, I would like to suggest an alternative theory.

Given that the terrorists / bombers are not only willing to give their lives in their so-called jihad nonsense but desperate to do so, perhaps blowing themselves up is not always the best way to advance their cause.

Consider how the shooting of this man has further divided our society, how it will make the armed police more hesitant to use force to prevent a potential suicide bomber taking hundreds of innocent people with him. Consider how the public are now drawn further into the culture of fear, but now in fear of the very police who are there to protect them.

It has now been reported that this man was not a suicide bomber (ie: had no explosives on him). But this is not consistent with a number of other facts, ie: the emergence from the flat under surviellance and know to be connected with the terrorists; the wearing of a thick and bulky jacket in temperatures of 22degC; the attempts to evade armed police and get to the tube. Various postings on IMC have suggested maybe the guy had a stash of weed on him - get real, not even a dope dealer is going to run given such bad odds when faced with several armed police! There really is no other way to put all these facts together.

This terrorist has advance his cause much further than he would have done by simply detonating himself, I believe this was a case of 'assisted suicide'.

Very clever ..........so don't be fooled. Any death is regrettable, but lets not get soft on the shoot to kill policy - its unfotunate but essential under these circumstances.

Tina Cat Visit


Think before you type, next time.

24.07.2005 12:45

Tina Cat Visit: 'Any death is of course regrettable, but with apologies to the freinds and family of the dead man if indeed he does turn out to be completely unconnected with acts of terror' ...etc

I'm sure your 'apology' will be much appreciated, since the police have already admitted that the man was totally unconnected.

On a related note, I wonder how many papers referred to him as a bomber, and are therefore in line to get sued? Or were they too sussed to do that?

ben


Just wondering

24.07.2005 16:44

Artaud. Hi.
I agree that camparison to a real 'death squad' is distateful. I don't quite agree with you saying this was just a 'fatal mistake?'. I've read and heard there is now a special unit of plain clothes police given orders to excecute people under watch who might be armed to explode a device. I realise this is the first time the special unit was let loose but the order to kill on site should be stopped now. In one operation they have killed one wrong man. This special unit and the orders given should be suspended now for revue. The first test failed why wait for more failures? I think the officers involved were given full authorization to kill with impunity. Manslaughter charges probably apply but should charges apply to the department giving the order or the officer who fired the five head shots? Why are they trained to fire five head shots? Is that sensible? Should a trained dog check for explosive smell while the chase occurs? Is that possible?

Jennifer O'Nions


British Libel Law

24.07.2005 18:39

QUOTE: "On a related note, I wonder how many papers referred to him as a bomber, and are therefore in line to get sued? Or were they too sussed to do that?"

If memory serves, under British libel/slander law - once a person is dead, the law no longer applies. You cannot defame a dead person, apparently.

indie-soc
- Homepage: http://www.indymedia.ie


a bunch of dogs chasing you

25.07.2005 04:12

Tina Cat Visit:
Why are you so dumb?

"Any death is of course regrettable, but with apologies to the freinds and family of the dead man if indeed he does turn out to be completely unconnected with acts of terror, I would like to suggest an alternative theory." You should maybe kill yourself.

"Consider how the public are now drawn further into the culture of fear, but now in fear of the very police who are there to protect them." So, he "assisted suicided" to draw public into the culture of fear? Maybe you should commit suicide to draw the world into a better place.

"It has now been reported that this man was not a suicide bomber (ie: had no explosives on him). But this is not consistent with a number of other facts, ie: the emergence from the flat under surviellance and know to be connected with the terrorists; the wearing of a thick and bulky jacket in temperatures of 22degC"
What makes you so sure about the temperature inside the house he emerged from, inside the bus we are told he jumped in, and inside the station where he was killed? What tells you that he wasn't ill so he could'nt go out with just a t-shirt? Is it a crime to wear a bulky jacket in summer?;
"the attempts to evade armed police and get to the tube." How the fuck did he know they were police if they were plainclothes? He probably (most certainly) thought they were a bunch of armed thugs trying to rob him.
"Various postings on IMC have suggested maybe the guy had a stash of weed on him - get real, not even a dope dealer is going to run given such bad odds when faced with several armed police!"
Armed police?! Or should you say a bunch of frustrated guys in plain clothes with weapons in their hands?
"There really is no other way to put all these facts together." There's a better way - throw yourself of a bridge.

"This terrorist has advance his cause much further than he would have done by simply detonating himself, I believe this was a case of 'assisted suicide'."
You're so dumb.

"Very clever ..........so don't be fooled. Any death is regrettable, but lets not get soft on the shoot to kill policy - its unfotunate but essential under these circumstances." Why don't you shoot yourself?

Tina Dog Visit

Tina Dog Visit


Did he know something?

30.07.2005 10:57

Isn't it possible that Mr de Menezes knew something about the July 7 attacks that certain people didn't want him to start thinking about? A lot of things don't add up in this incident. Undercover police were performing surveillance on the block of flats because they supposedly had documentation from one of the failed July 21st bomb bags that linked those apartments to the attacks. Wouldn't that have given them ample evidence to obtain a search warrant and conduct raids on the apartment in question rather than just monitor the whole block? In the first attacks, a lot of the passengers at Aldgate said that they didn't recall a bomb blast but heard a loud sound like a massive power surge and a blindingly bright flash. Tube officials also believed, at first, that they were dealing with a power surge problem. One eyewitness on that train, Bruce Lait, said that the carriage looked as though the blast had come up from underneath the train. Back to Mr de Menezes. Police followed him for fifteen minutes before deciding to make a move on him as he entered the Tube. If they had really suspected that he was a terrorist,why would they have allowed him to get on a bus? Why were there policemen waiting inside the Tube station for him as well? Quite frankly, it sounds like they were lying in wait for him specifically rather than making an innocent error of judgement. That's not to say that the police involved may be involved in a large conspiracy, but that those higher up who told them to monitor these apartments could definitely be. Why are none of the newspapers investigating any electrical work that Mr de Menezes may have performed in the last month or so? It may be that this incident was exactly as police describe, an tragic error of judgement. Still, there is still something more than slightly fishy about the whole affair.

M


Police impunity no surprise

06.08.2005 08:44

-- Neither are the bullshit comments posted by complete cop-loving idiots.

The police are little more than trained monkeys, complete hoodlums and thugs. The events of this day are disgusting, the metropolitian police have excelled themselves, managing to surpass their usual levels of stupidity, arrogance and brutality. The police have even gone so far as to say to the general public 'expect more' 'accidental' killings! Well we won't take it, the cities will set aflame if more murders happen. The cops stopped us preventing the war, now they gun people down. The imperialist policies of the UK government are responsible for the suicide bombs, the horror in the middle-east will not remain there, it will spread until our streets are full of check-points, concentration camps (-immigration camps-), wanton murder and abuse of human rights. Its already happening! We have to build for an uncontrollable social situation and shake off the capitalist classes and armed killers - destroy all authoritarian parties and build communities based on self-organisation and mutual aid.

Here's to more police deaths, not more police killings

anarchist


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