Who gave the British police actual bullets?

Wasn't it a long standing tradition that bobbies patrol un-armed? I guess it's because they are slightly jumpy. Maybe too much caffeinated earl grey tea.

As it turns out Jean Charles de Menezes, the 27 year old man shot in the head by British police last week, was a Brazilian national and had absolutely nothing to do with the London bombings. He had the misfortune of having slightly dark complexion and wearing a puffy coat. Witnesses saw de Menezes being chased by plain clothed officers, then pinning him to the ground, and while apprehended, shooting him in the head:

A witness to the shooting, Mark Whitby, said he was sitting on the train when "I heard a lot of shouting. I saw a chap run on to the train," Whitby said. "He was running so fast he half sort of tripped. He was being pursued by three guys. One had a black handgun in his hand. As he sort of went down, two of them sort of dropped on to him to hold him down, and the other one fired. I heard five shots."

Sure, maybe he should have stopped, but if you saw two crazed looking men in plain cloths, carrying weapons is your first reaction to stop? Even if the man was connected with terrorist activities, is this anyway to apprehend a suspect? In the worst case scenario, let's say he was decked out in a suit made of TNT, would you want to shoot at a living grenade?

Tony Blair did give a very British apology saying, "we are all desperately sorry for the death of an innocent person. I understand entirely the feelings of the young man's family. But we also have to understand the police are doing their job in very, very difficult circumstances and it is important that we give them every support." Mayhaps 'tis time to go back to rubber bullets.