The recent London case of mistaken identity which resulted in the murder of an innocent Brazilian citizen is an atrocious, yet cutting example of trigger happiness and fear that runs rampant in today's world.

Jean Charles de Menezes was killed last week when he was shot eight times by London anti-terrorist police. That's right, eight times.

According to a police report obtained by CNN, Menezes was targeted by anti-terrorist police because of his "clothing and suspicious behavior at the (train) station."

Menezes furthered suspicion when he ran from his pursuants, plainclothes police officers. Witnesses described his death as something "like a cornered rabbit," and there were reports that the man was shot five times in the head by one officer.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has offered his condolences for Menezes' death - but a "sorry" won't cut it this time.

Knowing what we do now, we can say that Menezes shouldn't have run from police. But if the police officers were in plainclothes, it's hard to fault the man for any fear he might have experienced, which could have caused him to flee.

But that's the most fault that could possibly be placed on Menezes, and it's dubious at that.

Menezes was suspicious; whether that suspicion was valid is to be determined. But suspicion never equates to guilt. Police had been following Menezes for a short period of time and had plenty of opportunities to question or apprehend him. They also had plenty of opportunities to conduct credible research which would have yielded information on the man's innocence in the first place.

Instead, anti-terrorist police watched as Menezes (wearing a thick coat on a warm summer day) boarded a public bus (which have been targets in the two recent London attacks).

They did not attempt to stop a man who they perceived as potentially dangerous before he boarded a vehicle - an ideal opportunity to cause mayhem.

The war on terror is being fought to prevent innocent people from dying, yet London's anti-terrorist police have killed an innocent man out of stupidity and complete fear, without even stopping to do valuable research.

The officers who shot Menezes shot to kill him. They had no credible information on the man and pursued him on a hunch - a hunch that turned out to be tragically erroneous.