Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes true story – tragic case explained

Here, he turns his gaze to the Met's shooting of an innocent Brazilian electrician in July 2005.

The Metropolitan Police has expressed "very deep regret" for de Menezes's death, but this sentiment and the small payout that his family was given have come nowhere close to repairing the terrible anguish they have suffered.

"It was terrible and then I started to shake," said Jean's mother, Maria, of the moment she learned of her son's horrifically unjust fate (via The Guardian). "I sort of died then too."

The dramatisation is available to stream on Disney Plus from Wednesday 30th April 2025.

Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes true story

Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is based on the death at police hands of a 27-year-old man, who was wrongly identified as a terrorism suspect.

The Metropolitan Police were on high alert in July 2005 following the 7/7 attack in London, which killed 56 people (including the four bombers) and injured more than 700 others.

The devastating incident was almost followed by another attack later that same month, on the 21st July, which ultimately failed due to a fault in the explosive devices of the attempted bombers.

Having escaped the scenes of their respective attack sites, a manhunt ensued the following day for the perpetrators, one of whom was associated with the same South London apartment block at which de Menezes had been residing.

An officer surveilling the building saw the electrician leave for work and wrongly considered him a possible match against two of the suspects seen on CCTV footage from the failed attack on the previous day.

During his commute, de Menezes was tracked by surveillance officers as he travelled by bus and was confronted by firearms officers on a Northern line underground train stopped at Stockwell station.

There are conflicting reports over precisely what unfolded in the final moments of de Menezes life, specifically regarding the conduct of the police officers on the scene and whether they identified themselves as such upon moving in.

"It wasn't about finding amazing revelations," Pope told Radio Times magazine. "It's all there in the inquiries, so it was about putting it together and finding a way through it.

"For example, did the cops shout, 'armed police'? They say they did, but 17 members of the public say they didn't. Much of it is letting the audience make its mind up."

Even if they had identified themselves, it is disputed whether de Menezes would realistically have had any chance to respond before being shot.

Further inconsistencies in the account subsequently came to light, with a common misconception being that de Menezes had vaulted over the ticket barriers of the tube station, as police officers pursued. In reality, he used an Oyster card.

Pope continued: "I was flabbergasted to discover that none of what I 'remembered' was true. The only people running and vaulting barriers were the firearms officers chasing him."

The screenwriter describes the lack of clarity surrounding certain details of the case – including the absence of CCTV footage from the bus or tube station – as having an "unhealthy whiff", noting that "there are just so many questions".

Although not justifying their actions, Pope attributed the extremity of the intervention to the "fear and paranoia" felt by officers following the 7/7 attack and the attempted bombings of 21st July.

He told Radio Times magazine: "I'm certain those guys went down onto that platform convinced that Jean Charles de Menezes was a terrorist. That was the mood at the time: 'We've got one of them!'"

The truth, that de Menezes was completely innocent, was officially confirmed the following day, with the Metropolitan Police describing the catastrophic incident as "a tragedy" and expressing "regrets".

The shooting provoked criticism of the Metropolitan Police, most notably its then-Commissioner Ian Blair and then-Gold Commander Cressida Dick, in both the UK and Brazil, with protests and vigils taking place in the immediate aftermath.

Of Dick, who had authorised the pursuit and later became the Met's Police Commissioner, Pope said: "If they had put their hands up, we wouldn't be here today. What would it have hurt her to say sorry?

"Over and again they use the word 'regret', not 'remorse', and that’s a crucial distinction for me."

After a four-year legal battle, the de Menezes family were compensated approximately £100,000 for Jean Charles's death, which his brother, Giovanni, told Radio Times magazine "doesn't solve anything".

A decade on from Jean's death, the family took their case to the European Court of Human Rights, protesting the decision by the British government not to prosecute anyone for the killing under Article 2 ('right to life').

Judges ruled against the family, concluding in a majority verdict (13:4) that "the decision not to prosecute any individual officer was not due to any failings in the investigation or the State's tolerance of or collusion in unlawful acts".

Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is available to stream on Disney Plus from Wednesday 30th April 2025.

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