Police watchdog defends decision that led to Kaba murder trial

The antheral who led the probe into the shooting of Chris Kaba has defended the determination that led to a firearms serviceman being unsuccessfully tried for murder.

Sal Naseem's appraisal that execution whitethorn person been committed has drawn fierce disapproval pursuing the acquittal of the officer. But speaking publically for the archetypal clip astir the case, helium told BBC Panorama helium had not been convinced that Mr Kaba presented a capable information to warrant being shot.

Sgt Martyn Blake, an serviceman successful the specializer firearms portion MO19, was recovered not blameworthy of execution past month, prompting protests from the Kaba family.

The Metropolitan Police says the strategy for holding constabulary officers to relationship indispensable beryllium reformed.

Panorama has spoken to a erstwhile Met Police firearms serviceman who believes 24-year-old Chris Kaba would person survived the constabulary cognition to transportation retired an equipped halt connected the nighttime of 5 September 2022, were it not for the unexpected involution of the constabulary car containing Sgt Blake.

Mr Kaba was changeable successful the caput aft helium tried to ram his mode retired of a constabulary conveyance halt successful southbound London. No firearms were recovered from the Audi helium was driving.

The Audi had been linked to a reported drive-by shooting the erstwhile day.

During his trial, Sgt Blake said it was his genuinely held content that determination was an imminent menace to beingness and that helium had not intended to termination Mr Kaba.

Mr Naseem led the probe for the constabulary watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). This is the archetypal clip helium has spoken publically astir the Kaba case.

“A constabulary serviceman tin lone usage lethal unit erstwhile it’s perfectly necessary,” helium says. At the constituent the limb was fired, Mr Naseem says that helium did not deliberation that appeared to beryllium the case.

After the trial, the justice lifted reporting restrictions connected accusation which had not been made known to the jury. This allowed the media to uncover Mr Kaba was portion of a pack called the 67. He had a drawstring of transgression convictions including 1 for possession of an imitation firearm, and different for possessing a knife.

He had been filmed by CCTV cameras shooting and wounding a rival pack subordinate successful a packed nightclub successful eastbound London six days earlier the constabulary equipped stop. Two members of the 67 pack were aboriginal jailed for their relation successful the nightclub shooting.

Mr Kaba was surrounded by equipped constabulary during the stop, demanding helium get retired of the car. Had helium done so, helium mightiness person lived.

BBC Panorama has besides been speaking to Mr Kaba’s parent and father, Helen and Prosper Kaba, since their lad was killed.

Prosper Kaba said that “the relation of the constabulary is not to kill”, that their lad should alternatively person stood proceedings and, if convicted, gone to situation for the transgression enactment they present cognize helium was progressive in.

Within 2 hours of the shooting of Mr Kaba, the IOPC was called in. Its task was to measure whether the usage of lethal unit was lawful oregon whether transgression offences whitethorn person been committed. It had the remit to nonstop files to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

By 9 September 2022, the determination had been made to unfastened a homicide investigation.

“It was fed backmost to us... that if we hadn’t done it astatine that clip past it’s apt determination would person been a level of disorder,” says Mr Naseem. “Things were connected a weapon edge”.

Mr Kaba’s shooting had led to protests crossed England and Wales and accusations of constabulary racism.

Former Met Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the UK’s astir elder serviceman of colour astatine the time, says the determination to statesman a homicide probe seems to person been made hastily successful effect to extracurricular pressure.

“To travel retired truthful aboriginal successful an probe and denote that they are looking astatine it arsenic a imaginable execution investigation, it seems singular that happened truthful quickly,” helium says.

“I interest determination was immoderate short-term reasoning that said this is simply a mode of avoiding a situation of confidence.”

On the nighttime Mr Kaba was shot, officers successful the Met’s firearms portion - MO19 - had been pursuing an Audi done southbound London due to the fact that they knew it had been linked to a shooting the nighttime before.

However, they had nary quality astir who was down the wheel.

They planned to transportation retired an equipped halt and unit the operator retired of the car.

But successful the Streatham area, Mr Kaba unexpectedly turned into a broadside thoroughfare wherever a marked constabulary conveyance was waiting, with Sgt Blake and different equipped officers inside. They had been expecting to articulation the backmost of the follow. However, the operational firearms commandant (OFC) did not cognize they were there.

The operator of Sgt Blake’s conveyance pulled guardant into the roadworthy to intercept the car Mr Kaba was driving, but neither this constabulary conveyance nor the constabulary conveyance instantly down the Audi boxed it successful tightly, truthful it had country for manoeuvre. Mr Kaba past attempted to reverse his mode out, ramming the constabulary conveyance behind.

Sgt Blake and a fig of different officers got retired of their vehicles and began shouting astatine Mr Kaba to bash likewise. When helium didn’t comply, officers tried to interruption unfastened his car windows.

Mr Kaba past tried to thrust guardant and ram his mode past the constabulary conveyance successful front, smashing into it and a achromatic car parked connected the street.

When that did not work, helium reversed the car again and rammed different constabulary vehicle.

By this point, Sgt Blake had tally astir to the beforehand of the Audi and was pointing his weapon astatine the windscreen. He fired done it and killed Mr Kaba with 1 changeable to the head.

Sgt Blake told the constabulary watchdog that helium changeable Mr Kaba due to the fact that helium had a genuinely held content that 1 oregon much of his colleagues would beryllium killed by the car.

There were 11 officers astatine the scene, each with body-worn cameras. Their footage aboriginal helped the IOPC portion unneurotic what happened that night.

Mr Naseem says helium had a “visceral reaction” to what helium saw.

“It’s a split-second determination but for [Sgt Blake] to discharge the firearm determination has to beryllium a important menace to life. At the clip helium did, I conscionable didn’t deliberation determination was cause.”

Mr Basu disagrees, and says it was dark, and the concern was chaotic. “This car is revving its engine. It's ramming different cars and it's a two-tonne vehicle. And firearms officers are not having the effect that firearms officers would expect, which is contiguous surrender.”

The clip betwixt Sgt Blake getting retired of his conveyance and making the determination to discharge his firearm was little than 20 seconds.

"I deliberation the chaos of that concern [...] we're asking a immense magnitude of constabulary officers to marque antithetic decisions to prevention beingness successful those circumstances,” says Mr Basu.

The BBC has besides spoken to a erstwhile firearms serviceman who utilized to enactment for the aforesaid portion arsenic Sgt Blake.

“The information is that immoderate things went incorrect successful the operation... If Blake’s conveyance had not got progressive successful the stop, I deliberation Chris Kaba would inactive beryllium live today,” says the officer, who does not privation to beryllium identified but is acquainted with operational tactics.

They explicate that due to the fact that the operational firearms commandant did not cognize Sgt Blake and his colleagues were parked successful the broadside street, helium would besides not person known that they were astir to intervene.

“So, erstwhile they moved to intercept the car Chris Kaba was driving, the OFC didn’t cognize they’d efficaciously initiated the equipped stop,” the serviceman says.

“And due to the fact that of however it happened, it was a much unsafe benignant of halt than the 1 primitively planned.”

“It wasn’t safe, and it enactment officers successful danger.”

The serviceman says Sgt Blake was dropped into a truly hard situation.

The Chris Kaba Shooting

Panorama speaks to the parents of Chris Kaba, arsenic good arsenic the antheral who led the IOPC probe into the fatal shooting and a erstwhile Met Police firearms serviceman who served successful the aforesaid portion arsenic Sgt Martyn Blake.

Watch connected BBC iPlayer oregon connected BBC One connected Monday 04 November astatine 20:00 (20:30 successful Wales and Northern Ireland)

Last month, Sgt Blake stood proceedings for murder. The assemblage came backmost with a not-guilty verdict aft deliberating for 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Mr Naseem has since near the IOPC. While afloat accepting the jury's verdict, helium stands by the determination to notation the lawsuit to the CPS.

“If this was textbook, past wherefore did the Crown Prosecution Service contented specified a superior charge?” helium says.

“That tells you that that precise archetypal absorption I had to watching the footage... was really borne retired by different autarkic body.”

The CPS said successful a connection it recognises “firearms officers run nether tremendous pressure, but it is our work to enactment cases earlier a assemblage that conscionable our trial for prosecution… We are satisfied that trial was met successful this case”.

Reacting to the not-guilty verdict, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said nary serviceman was supra the law but the strategy holding constabulary to relationship was “broken”.

He said his equipped officers respond to much than 4,000 incidents a twelvemonth but lone 1 oregon 2 effect successful shots being fired. He added that helium disquieted astir “the deficiency of enactment officers face” and “most of each I interest for the public”.

Days later, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced reforms aimed astatine improving constabulary accountability, 1 of which involves a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers charged with transgression offences aft constabulary shootings.

Sgt Blake has present had his suspension by the Met Police lifted and the IOPC is reviewing its proposal that helium should look a gross misconduct hearing.

An inquest into the decease of Mr Kaba is expected adjacent year.

In a connection to Panorama, the Met said: “The facts of this lawsuit were tried and tested successful a transgression tribunal implicit 2 weeks. A assemblage of 12 men and women, having heard each of the grounds recovered Sgt Martyn Blake not blameworthy of murder.

“Our absorption remains connected serving and protecting the communities of London and supporting the brave men and women who measurement guardant to bash truthful each day.”