Original Article Eight bullets demands a heavy burden of proof By Jimmy Burns Published: July 26 2005 03:00 | Last updated: July 26 2005 03:00 The man shot dead by police on Friday received seven bullets in the head and one in the shoulder, it has emerged. Earlier witness reports had suggested five shots were fired, but Monday's confirmed details are likely to put fresh pressure on the police. They emerged at an inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian electrician, which opened at Southwark coroner's court. Senior police officers at the weekend confirmed that de Menezes had been killed in line with shoot-to-kill guidelines for officers when facing a terrorist they suspect is about to detonate a bomb. However, police insiders accept there are serious questions over exactly how the guidelines were applied in this case. One police source said those trained in the new guidelines knew that one bullet in the back of the head was sufficient to disable a suspect bomber. But a report from the scene suggests de Menezes was shot first after entering a Tube carriage and then shot several times more while being pinned on the floor. According to one police source, the victim was shot so many times he was beyond recognition. A least one police officer is thought to have shot de Menezes with a Glock 17 pistol, which holds 17 rounds and has a maximum effective range of 15 metres. The officer or officers who fired at de Menezes are thought to have been taken off firearms duties although not formally suspended pending the outcome of an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Speaking on Monday as the investigation got under way, Nick Hardwick, chairman of the IPCC, promised a thorough inquiry and said he was confident he would be given access to all the information he needed. Despite tensions between the police and independent bodies that question their professionalism, Mr Hardwick said he felt reassured by a "commitment of support" from Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan police commissioner. "We enter this with open minds, as we search for the truth, and we have accepted the full co-operation of the Metropolitan police service, which they have pledged," Mr Hardwick said. One of the questions the IPCC will attempt to answer is the nature of the intelligence that led a surveillance team to follow de Menezes, who had no known terrorist links and who was not among the photographs identifying suspects in the London bombings. Police have yet to explain why, if they suspected he was a suicide bomber, they allowed de Menezes to walk, take a bus, then get off and walk to an Underground station before deciding to shoot him. Officers took the decision after de Menezes was seen breaking into a run, although it remains unclear whether the plain clothes police identified themselves and challenged him first. The investigation is also looking at the chain of decision-making that was involved in the handover from the surveillance team to the armed unit. Under the shoot-to-kill guidelines, the officers were supposed to get authorisation from a senior commander who is linked to them electronically and can order a "go" in seconds. According to human rights lawyers, the police force face a "heavy burden" in proving that the killing of a man mistakenly was legal. Helen Shaw, co-director of campaign group Inquest, yesterday called for a thorough and transparent investigation. "Serious questions need to be answered about the intelligence and operational processes that ultimately led to his [de Menezes's] death," she said.