BRITAIN: The family of Jean Charles de Menezes vowed yesterday to continue its battle to bring criminal charges against the officers involved in shooting him dead after prosecutors ruled there was insufficient evidence to go to trial.
The UK's Crown Prosecution Service instead decided to prosecute London's Metropolitan police under health and safety laws for the killing of the innocent Brazilian man mistaken for a suicide bomber at a London underground station last July.
The Met will today be served with a summons alleging the force breached the duty of care it owed Mr de Menezes. The summons launches the first prosecution of its kind.
Mr de Menezes's family branded the decision not to pursue murder or manslaughter charges "shameful", and said they would consider challenging it in court and pursuing a private prosecution. Patricia da Silva Armani, cousin of the 27-year-old electrician, said: "By using this law to cover up their own mistakes, they are treating my cousin like an animal. I feel sickened by that."