A British jury has refused to clear police of wrongdoing in the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian electrician shot by police after being mistaken for a suicide bomber.

The jury has returned an open verdict after being told by the coroner that they had only two choices: either a verdict of lawful killing or an open verdict. That means they reached no conclusion.

His family has called the inquest a whitewash.

The inquest that ended Friday examined the death of the 27-year-old. He died on July 22, 2005, two weeks after four suicide bombers attacked London's transit system.

A coroner's inquest is required in Britain to establish the facts when someone dies unexpectedly, violently or of unknown causes.