Jean Charles de Menezes

The UK is not the US, right? We don't have anything to worry about when British police shoot an innocent man, right?

Consider: British police spot a man wearing a bulky coat in the London Underground. They chase the man into a subway car, pin him to the floor, and shoot him several times. Jean Charles de Menezes, 27-year-old Brazilian, and innocent man, dies. Al-Qaeda is laughing: they no longer have to sacrifice their own operatives to kill innocent people. Western authorities will do it for them.

I don't hate cops. but I live in increasing fear of their power over our lives. Apparently, in response to the July 7 mass transit bombings, London police now can justify killing a subdued suspect (suspected of what? running? bad summer fashion sense?). Do American cops operate under the same rules of engagement? If they do, any citizen who wants to survive a trip outdoors will have to follow these rules:

• Don't wear anything unusual.
• Don't make any sudden moves.
• Don't go anywhere near places under police surveillance (contact your local PD for a complete list of currently surveiled terrorist suspect sites).
  
• Don't look grouchy, nervous, or interested in anything.

There probably is no good policy reform that would have avoided this tragedy. It's not the first time the police have shot an innocent person, and it won't be the last, as long as police have to chase bad dudes and make split-second decisions. But the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes provides a very vivid example of the danger of letting our fears of terrorism rule our daily lives. In the pursuit of terrorists, in their fear of more bombings, London police have killed an innocent man, without trial, without appeal.