Greetings. You no doubt remember the recent case of the innocent Brazilian shot multiple times in the head by London plainclothes police, who claim they thought he was a terrorist about to detonate a bomb in the subway. At the time, I questioned the police procedures involved, in the "DayThink" audio feature Shoot to Kill.

Everyone understands that in the wake of the London bombings, the police have a very difficult job. But now, in police documents leaked to a British television network, we learn that many of the supposed "facts" that the London police released supporting their actions were, simply put, false. The statements turn out to be so blantantly untrue that it's difficult to view them as anything other than utter incompetency combined with a purposeful cover-up.

Almost everything the police claimed publicly was inaccurate. The victim wasn't wearing a heavy jacket (nor was he carrying or wearing a suspicious bag). No unusual behavior. He didn't run from the police. He didn't jump over the subway turnstiles. He didn't ignore police orders (in fact, no orders were ever made to him). He calmly walked into the station, bought a ticket, and picked up a newspaper. He got on a train and sat down. The police then rushed in and blew his brains out.

His only "crime" turns out to have been living in an apartment in a complex that was under surveillance, since police thought one of the bombers might have been in a different apartment there. His identification was also mishandled when a key police officer chose a critical moment to "relieve himself" and was unable to make the appropriate observations.

We all want to support the police in their difficult work against both crime and terrorism. But that's no excuse for gross incompetence and apparent cover-ups. Such actions, especially if left unpunished, seriously undermine confidence and trust in police forces, just when we need them the most.

--Lauren--