Jury: London police shooting not lawful

LONDON, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A Brazilian national shot dead by police in London after unconnected 2005 terror attacks was not killed lawfully by firearms officers, a jury has found.

Jurors in the inquest into the July 2005 death of Jean Charles de Menezes found that the Brazilian national had done nothing to warrant police officers shooting him seven times in the head, The Daily Telegraph said Friday.

Officers alleged that they were forced to fire on de Menezes after he failed to heed their verbal warning at London's Stockwell Underground station.

The officers had suspected the 27-year-old electrician was a suicide terrorist linked to an attempted transport bombing the day before the fatal shooting.

The jury, which deliberated for a week during the shooting inquest, also criticized police for inappropriate communications during the incident and Scotland Yard for a lack of detailed information.

The Times of London said the jury was forced to offer an open verdict as part of the inquest as jurors had been ordered not to consider an unlawful shooting verdict.