Firearms officer cleared of Chris Kaba shooting

Firearms Officer Cleared in Chris Kaba Shooting Case

A firearms officer who fatally shot Chris Kaba during a police stop in Streatham, south London, has been acquitted of murder. Martyn Blake, 40, was cleared by a jury after a trial at the Old Bailey, where he denied intending to kill the 24-year-old during the incident in September 2022.

The court heard that Blake fired a single shot through the windscreen of the Audi Q8 driven by Mr Kaba after the car was linked to a shooting in nearby Brixton the previous evening. During the operation, a helicopter and six police vehicles were deployed to stop the vehicle.

The jury deliberated for approximately three hours before reaching their decision. As the not-guilty verdict was read out, Blake appeared emotional but did not visibly react. Mr Kaba’s family remained silent in court as the decision was announced.

The incident unfolded when Mr Kaba, aware of the police following him, told a friend he believed officers were behind him. He then turned into Kirkstall Gardens, where Blake was positioned in a marked BMW. The Audi reversed into an unmarked police car before accelerating forward, colliding with both the BMW and a parked Tesla.

Footage shown in court captured armed officers shouting commands for Mr Kaba to exit the vehicle. After the Audi came to a stop, Blake fired his carbine less than a second later, fatally wounding Mr Kaba. The young man, who was unarmed and had no weapons in the vehicle, died in hospital the following day.

Prosecutors argued that Blake had acted out of anger and frustration, stating that Mr Kaba had not posed a threat in the moments before the shot was fired. They alleged that Blake had exaggerated his claim that the Audi was used as a weapon. However, Blake testified that he believed there was an imminent threat to life, fearing that one of his colleagues could be killed.

Blake, who was previously granted anonymity before the order was lifted, said he acted to protect his fellow officers and felt a duty to prevent harm. Other armed officers on the scene supported Blake’s account, with one stating that he would have opened fire if Blake had not.

The case drew significant public attention, with protests calling for justice for Mr Kaba and his family continuing to campaign for accountability. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) conducted a seven-month investigation, and while Blake has been cleared of criminal charges, the case will be reviewed to determine if he should face gross misconduct proceedings.

Opinion

Since 1990, 83 people have died in fatal police shootings in England and Wales, yet only one officer, Benjamin Monk, has been convicted of manslaughter. Not murder—manslaughter. The institution that is meant to “serve and protect” seems increasingly to view itself as above the laws it is supposed to enforce. Ask yourself: what message does this send to those in uniform? To those of us who live under the weight of their authority?

Let’s not mince words: the police, as an institution, have become an arm of state-sanctioned violence with little oversight or accountability. We’ve normalized this violence to such an extent that when a young, unarmed man is gunned down in the streets, we ask not why it happened, but how quickly we can rationalize it.

But the jury’s decision in the Blake trial doesn’t close the book on Chris Kaba’s death. In fact, it’s part of a much bigger, more damning story of a justice system that has systematically failed to hold police officers to account.

The police are not above the law, but they behave as though they are. And we, as a society, have allowed them to. Counterarguments abound: we need the police to maintain order; they face danger every day; mistakes are inevitable. Yes, their job is dangerous. But that doesn’t give them the right to kill with impunity. We cannot allow a narrative that excuses deadly mistakes, especially when they disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

What we need is systemic change. A recalibration of power that demands accountability, not just in the rare cases where officers are brought to trial, but in the everyday operations of law enforcement. Body cameras, de-escalation training, and diversity initiatives are not enough. The system itself, which privileges the lives of the few over the many, must be dismantled.

Chris Kaba’s death is a tragedy, but it is not a mystery. It’s a symptom of a police force drunk on its own power, shielded by a legal system that bends over backward to protect its own.

We are not the US we do not gun each other down in the streets, or at least we didn’t.

Paul Knaggs