Jean Charles de Menezes Plaque - Clapham Road, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 28.330 W 000° 07.370
30U E 699814 N 5706260
Jean Charles de Menezes was shot and killed by London's Metropolitan police, on a tube train at Stockwell underground station, on 22nd July 2005. A permanent memorial, in the form of a mosaic, was unveiled at the station on 7th January 2010.
Waymark Code: WMMB7N
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/25/2014
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Outspoken1
Views: 3

The mosaic, that contains a central tiled area bearing a black and white picture of John Charles de Menezes, is about five feet high by four feet wide. A wide variety of colours have been used by the artist, Mary Edwards, probably to reflect the vibrant colour found in Brazil. Many of the pieces are square to fill in the background but small, various shaped pieces are used for the details such as the flowers, plants and birds. An inscription, also a part of the mosaic, is beneath the picture.

The inscription on the memorial reads:

Innocent
Jean Charles de Menezes
Born Gonzaga MG Brazil 07.01.1972
Shot dead here 22.07.2005 Sadly missed

The Guardian newspaper's website tells us:

Jean Charles de Menezes memorial unveiled at Stockwell station.

Colourful mosaic created by local artist unveiled on what would have been shot Brazilian's 32nd birthday.

A permanent memorial to Jean Charles de Menezes was unveiled today outside the tube station where the Brazilian electrician was shot dead by police.

Family members and campaigners gathered at Stockwell station in south London on what would have been De Menezes's 32nd birthday. He was killed in a tube carriage on 22 July 2005 by officers hunting would-be suicide bombers who had attacked London's transport network the previous day.

A photograph of De Menezes with the word "INNOCENT" underneath formed the centrepiece of the colourful mosaic created by a local artist, Mary Edwards. The memorial replaced an improvised shrine of flowers, candles, pictures and newspaper cuttings. Transport for London agreed to the permanent tribute after a campaign by the De Menezes family last year.

Vivian Figueiredo, a cousin of De Menezes, said the memorial was a reminder that police officers were not above the law. "Jean Charles was not the first person to be killed unjustly by the police and he won't be the last," she said.

Menezes, 27, was mistaken for the failed suicide bomber Hussain Osman, who had attempted to bomb London on 21 July 2005, a fortnight after terrorist attacks in the capital killed 52 people and injured 750 others. Members of the Metropolitan police's elite armed unit, CO19, fired nine times, their guns 1-8cm from De Menezes' head, as another officer pinned him into a seat on an underground train.

In December 2008 a jury in the inquest into the killing returned an open verdict after hearing damning evidence of police blunders that led to the shooting. The jury disbelieved key parts of the accounts of the two police marksmen who shot dead the Brazilian. The Crown Prosecution Service decided in February last year that no individual should be prosecuted.

The De Menezes family agreed a compensation settlement with Scotland Yard last year. The amount of money was undisclosed but was believed to be just over £100,000.

 

 

Specific visit requirements:
The mosaic is accessible 24/7 as it is outside the station.


Address:
Clapham Road
Stockwell
London, United Kingdom


Related web site: [Web Link]

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