BRITAIN: Britain's top police officers are reviewing the controversial shoot-to-kill policy after its first use ended in the gunning down of an innocent man.
The review by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) comes amid a continuing dispute around the London Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, over his handling of the killing of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Underground station in south London.
A senior police source and member of Acpo said: "The review is not theoretical, it is looking in great depth."
Among the issues to be considered are: whether any other non-lethal weapons exist or are in development that could rapidly incapacitate a suspected suicide bomber; how much intelligence is needed before officers are authorised to shoot to kill; how to assess intelligence rapidly when under massive pressure, and how to ensure effective communications between commanders at base and those pursuing a suspect.
The review will also look at the London bomb attacks on July 7th and attempted attacks on July 21st, seeking to draw lessons from them. The two attacks will also be examined to provide "real-time" scenarios to help develop the best way to implement the policy.
In addition, it will focus on the lesser-known Operation Clydesdale, which covers tactics on a planned raid against a suicide bombing suspect and which authorises officers to shoot to kill.
The policy which claimed Mr de Menezes's life is known as Operation Kratos. Senior officers who support the policy have privately said there is anxiety about whether using the tactic again would result in another innocent person being killed.
"There were big agonies before and Stockwell has just emphasised that," the source said.
Asked whether there was confidence in Kratos, he replied: "It's very hard to view something like Kratos and use words like confidence." Mr de Menezes died at Stockwell station after being mistaken for a suicide bomber.
The case is under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. A string of blunders have emerged, including the white Brazilian man being misidentified as a black African terrorism suspect.
Senior officers believe that the shoot-to-kill policy must be retained, but they have been discussing ways to minimise the risk of killing innocent people.
Part of the review will look at intelligence. The police source said: "In any firearms incident the most crucial bit is the intelligence you receive.
"One question is how much intelligence do you need to shoot to kill. What systems are available to check out the intelligence quickly?"
With questions continuing to be asked about the handling of the investigation into the shooting, the family of Mr de Menezes yesterday demanded Sir Ian's resignation.
Alessandro Pereira, a cousin of Mr de Menezes, said: "He now says he didn't know. If he didn't know, why didn't he know? Why did he tell the world my cousin was a terrorist? Why did he lie to us?"
Brazilian investigators will arrive in London next week to press for answers. Two Brazilian officials will meet representatives from the IPCC, Scotland Yard's deputy assistant commissioner, John Yates, and other British officials. "The Brazilian government anticipates receiving clarification regarding a number of matters, including the information released by the press in recent days," its embassy said in a statement.- (Guardian service)