Jean Charles De Menezes was killed by armed police on a London tube on July 22, 2005, during a bungled anti-terror operation. Police mistakenly identified him as a suspect in a failed terror attack, as would-be suicide bombers had targeted the transport network on July 21, 2005, but their devices failed to explode. Scotland Yard later admitted that Jean Charles De Menezes was shot by mistake.
He was shot seven times in the head. The Undercover Policing Inquiry, which is examining the activity of the Metropolitan Police Special Demonstration Squad between 1993 and 2007, heard that the Met Police deployed 'multiple' undercover officers to spy on the family's campaign for justice. Patricia Armani Da Silva, a cousin of Jean Charles De Menezes, told the inquiry she was disturbed to learn undercover officers had targeted her after the killing.
I know from disclosure that [undercover police officers] did attend meetings so they would have seen me and heard me speak. The very thought of their presence is chilling and disturbs me...it upsets me deeply knowing the MPS killed Jean and then had the audacity to send officers to find out what we were saying or if we had managed to find out what they had concealed.
She described the move as 'chilling'. Patricia Armani Da Silva said, 'I know from disclosure that [undercover police officers] did attend meetings so they would have seen me and heard me speak. ' She also told the inquiry she felt 'really disrespected' by the way she was treated by police after the killing, adding, 'I feel very bad about that.
I feel like there's a negligence, it was 27 hours until I knew about his being killed. ' The specific actions taken by the undercover officers while spying on the family's campaign remain unclear, and it is unknown what disciplinary or legal consequences were faced by the officers involved.
I feel very bad about that. I feel like there's a negligence, it was 27 hours until I knew about his being killed. I feel really disrespected, there was no communication, I feel horrible about that.