Fatal Jaywalker

Ottawa Boy

(article)


A cousin of Menezes, Alex Alves Pereira, said his family was upset and angry over the death, and he challenged police statements that he failed to obey orders, and jumped a ticket barrier at the Stockwell Underground station in south London.


To jaywalk. A term I ( in canada) associate with walking across the street in the middle of the road , or otherwise not at the usual crosswalk.

Thats what our friend the Brit / Brazilian worker who ran from the cops did. Why ? Because British cops typically don't carry guns , so hey , why not run from them ? It's a big fine to be caught sneaking on the train or jaywalking or some other minor traffic penalty. I bet people run from the british bobbies all the time.

And in these openning days of terrorism on the Brits where suddenly all the rules have changed , those slow to adapt to the changing circumstances get caught in the crossfire.

In the end I will lay you long odds that "Jean Charles de Menezes" was jaywaking or some such , had a long history of such petty traffic offences , and simply had no clue that the cops were suddenly armed and willing to kill.

I am somewhat concearned that they found his heavy coat suspicious (I'm using a similar dodge to hide a medical problem of my own ) but then again ... up here in canada, the cops have been armed for most of my life, if not all of it , and my first reaction would be to stop and raise my hands. I havn't run for anything , not even the bus, in over a decade.

In the end , this is an incidental traffic hazard. Don't run from the cops and you're fine.