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The head of Britain’s biggest police force warned yesterday that crushing ‘good officers’ makes the streets less safe after a police marksman was cleared of murder.
Sir Mark Rowley said the ‘system holding police to account is broken’ after firearms officer Martyn Blake was put on trial for murder because he shot motorist Chris Kaba to save other officers from being run over.
Sergeant Blake, 40, was cleared in just three hours yesterday leaving the Crown Prosecution Service facing questions about why the landmark case was brought after jurors wholeheartedly rejected accusations he shot the 24-year-old ‘without justification’.
In an extraordinary case which has profound implications for national security, hundreds of firearms officers around the country downed their weapons in protest when the officer was charged as colleagues argued that he was just trying to save them.
Last night the Met Commissioner praised his officer’s bravery, while Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick described Mr Blake as a ‘hero’ saying his prosecution had ‘endangered the public’.
Chris Kaba was shot through the windscreen of a car in South London on September 5, 2022
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said the ‘system holding police to account is broken’ after firearms officer Martyn Blake was put on trial for murder because he shot motorist Chris Kaba
The footage shows armed officers running towards Mr Kaba’s car which was hemmed in
Mr Kaba’s vehicle was hemmed in by marked and unmarked police cars during the incident
Protesters gather after the trial verdict where Blake was cleared of Mr Kaba’s murder
The fatal shooting on September 5, 2022, happened after armed police started tailing the vehicle Mr Kaba was driving because the Audi Q8 had been linked to a shooting the night before in Brixton, south London.
When police boxed in the vehicle in a residential street in Streatham, Mr Kaba used the car as a ‘battering ram’ reversing into a police car before accelerating into parked cars in a desperate bid to escape. Ready to run over anyone standing in his way, Mr Kaba revved back and forth in the high-powered Audi almost dragging the ten officers surrounding him under the wheels.
Mr Blake finally ended the rampage by firing a single fatal shot through the windscreen killing the driver. Former justice secretary Mr Jenrick said: ‘Martyn Blake was a hero who found himself fearing for his life and the life of his colleagues.
‘His prosecution was wrong and endangered the public. We must back our brave police officers, and not drag them through the courts for making split-second decisions.’ Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel, said: ‘This…case has had a huge reputational impact on his career and on the force at large.
‘There are important questions for the CPS to answer over the evidence base they had and their reasons for pursuing it.’
Emotional demonstrators attend the protests after the trial verdict where Blake was cleared of murder today
Kayza Rose, Sheeda Queen (cousin) and Temi Mawale speak to the media after the trial verdict
Mr Kaba’s vehicle was hemmed in by marked and unmarked police cars during the incident
The Met Commissioner said last night: ‘We have been clear that the system holding police to account is broken.
‘The more we crush the spirit of good officers, the less they can fight crime. That risks London becoming less safe.’
During the three week trial, a succession of officers claimed they would have shot Mr Kaba if Mr Blake had not acted.
Despite his acquittal, Mr Blake faces the prospect of a disciplinary hearing brought by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. His suspension by the Met was lifted last night but it could be months before the watchdog makes the decision whether to proceed with a misconduct hearing.
Separately, Mr Kaba’s parents Prosper Kaba and Helen
Lumuanganu are set to launch a civil claim which may include considering the grounds for appeal.
Members of Mr Kaba’s family rocked back and forth as the verdict was delivered. They said: ‘The not guilty verdict leaves us with the deep pain of injustice.’
Frank Ferguson, of the CPS, said: ‘This has been a complex case and the decision to prosecute was made after in-depth consideration of the available evidence.
‘We recognise firearms officers operate under enormous pressure, but it is our responsibility to put cases before a jury that meet our test for prosecution.’