Mr de Menezes was shot after boarding a train at Stockwell tube station
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A firearms officer told an inquest he "felt sorry" for police marksmen left covered in blood after shooting dead Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.
The anonymous officer said his team had been prepared to kill, even if their senior officer had not given the order for fear of jeopardising her career.
The inquest also heard the 27-year-old had been killed in a "calm and controlled" way as he got on the Tube.
Police mistook the Brazilian for one of the failed 21 July 2005 London bombers.
The officer, a senior tactical adviser codenamed Trojan 84, told the jury he had met the two officers shortly after they shot Mr de Menezes seven times from point blank range.
Describing the meeting, in a tunnel at Stockwell Underground station, south London, he said: "I just remember feeling sorry for them at that point.
"The reason for that was because they were covered in blood."
'A tragedy'
Mr de Menezes had been mistaken for failed bombing suspect Hussain Osman.
The officer, an inspector whose identity was protected during the inquest, described it as a "tragedy".
"We thought we had caught a suicide bomber - it turned out we had killed an innocent man," he said.
Trojan 84 had briefed the marksman that morning and told them there were circumstances in which they could shoot without orders, the inquest heard.
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It is the training that enables us to carry out the duties as happened on this day in a calm and controlled manner
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Their designated senior officer that day (DSO) had been Deputy Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick.
The officer said: "We felt that for any DSO to make a decision about a critical shot was a hugely difficult decision to make and maybe career-threatening.
"In relation to the critical shot, the instruction would come direct from the DSO but what I also mentioned was that if we were able to challenge, but the subject was not-compliant, then a shot may be taken."
When asked if officers were prepared to take the critical shot without word from his bosses, he replied: "Yes."
He added: "It was my job to tell the team they would be supported whatever decision they took because of the structures that were in place."
'Extreme circumstances'
Earlier, tactical adviser Ch Insp Vince Esposito had spoken about how Mr de Menezes had been shot as he boarded a train on the day after the failed bombings.
He said: "Everybody is human and we all get excited occasionally but it is the training that enables us to carry out the duties as happened on this day in a calm and controlled manner."
Ch Insp Esposito, who said armed intervention was used in only the most "extreme" circumstances, said Mr de Menezes would have been shot on that day whether he had been carrying a rucksack or not.
When asked if explosives could have been concealed on Mr de Menezes's body or in his pockets, he said: "It is very difficult indeed to say if he was carrying an explosive device."
The inquest continues.
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