Not that it was needed, but the revelation that the man shot dead by police at Stockwell station on Thursday was not connected to the recent bombings in the city has inevitably polarized zealots. Both sides, though, were already using Mr Menezes death with glee in order to promote their own political beliefs, or, more accurately, to berate those who disagreed with them.

I do not know which of them are worse. I doubt it matters.

Anyone who dares question whether the police were right in their actions are condemned with the usual clichéd insults by people who seem to think wanting to do good is a bad thing. The killing of innocent people means little when it is in the name of protection, and should it happen again then so-be-it.

Human rights are regarded as a burden preventing us from defending our society. This said with no recognition of irony despite it being one of the very moral values they wish to see protected.

The benefit of hindsight leads others to tell us why the 'execution' of an innocent man, who 'speaks very little English' was understandably 'panicked' by the sight of a 'gang of armed men' not wearing uniforms, was an abhorrent act. One death is worse than all those who could have been, as was believed the time, saved by it.

And while yesterday saw a racist campaign whereby anyone of Asian descent will come under suspicion simply because of their skin colour and religion, today they protest that the victim was Brazilian and did not even look right.

Those who do condemn the police fail to offer any alternative as to how such situations could be better handled and those who support their actions are quick to dismiss the genuine concerns felt by both the public and the police as to how this happened and could be prevented.

All of which is accompanied by the usual emotive posturing. "What if your family was killed by terrorists?" versus "What if it was your brother, father, or son that was shot by police?"

These may be exceptional times, yet what is seemingly forgotten is that this still remains an isolated incident. Of over 30,000 officers in the Metropolitan Police Service, only a few thousand, at most, are authorized to use firearms.

Police shootings are an uncommon occurrence in Britain. Between 1993 and 2001 there were only 29 incidents in London at which shots were fired, and these resulted in only eight casualties.

That so many seem to take one of these positions does highlight the difficulty that most people seem to have in accepting events for what they are without needing to apportion blame. It cannot simply be an unfortunate confluence of events, someone has to have been in the wrong and take responsibility.

It was Mr Menezes own fault for acting suspiciously, he either had something to hide or was so stupid to run from armed police at such a fragile time that he deserved to die. Or the police are trigger-happy assassins who needlessly shot an innocent man before considering whether he was actually a criminal.

Failure to accept that the actions of a man who arrived in this country having previously lived in violent slums in Brazil were perfectly understandable are met with accusations of lacking empathy. While those who cannot see that the police were placed in a difficult situation are putting us all at risk. For some reason it is treated as a "them or us" situation. The state is either oppressive or too soft and everything must fit within that framework.

Until the full facts are know all that can be said is that it was an unfortunate and regrettable episode. At this time it is impossible to say whether this was an avoidable tragedy, though many seem to have already drawn their own conclusions.

Sadly proponents of both points of view are more than ready to set forth their moral indignation towards, and assert their superiority over, anyone who does not see things the same way as them. You either support a police state or terrorism. No one seems able to admit that they just do not know the facts.

One of the most sickening aspects of all this is that an innocent man has died, and as with those killed on July 7th, he is treated as just another political weapon.