Officer discovered not responsible in dying of Chris Kaba, who was unarmed when he was shot in September 2022.
A London police officer who shot and killed a black man two years in the past has been acquitted of homicide.
Martyn Blake, a 40-year-old Metropolitan Police marksman, was acquitted by a London jury on Monday over the dying of Chris Kaba.
Blake shot Kaba, 24, on September 5, 2022 on a slim residential avenue within the Streatham Hill neighborhood of south London.
Kaba was unarmed and driving an Audi that police believed was linked to a capturing the day earlier than, and he was pressured to cease.
He had tried to drive away whereas being boxed in by police autos when Blake fired a single bullet by way of the Audi’s windshield after Kaba started ramming police vehicles in an try to flee.
Prosecutor Tom Little informed jurors in the beginning of the trial this month that Blake’s choice to shoot Kaba “was neither moderately justified nor justifiable.”
Blake mentioned he thought there was an “imminent risk” to his colleagues if he had not shot Kaba.
He gave proof that he supposed to incapacitate Kaba however not kill him.
“My solely intention was to cease that car, which I assumed was about to hit my colleagues,” Blake mentioned.
Blake was suspended from workplace following anger from black communities.
Jurors at London’s Central Prison Court docket deliberated for about three hours earlier than discovering Blake not responsible.
Blake breathed a sigh of reduction when the decision was learn. Kaba’s household, sitting within the courtroom, confirmed no seen response.
Prosecutors mentioned they had been pondering of the Kaba household however revered the jury’s choice.
“We acknowledge that firearms officers function beneath monumental strain, however it’s our accountability to current instances to a jury that meets our check for prosecution, and we’re glad that the check was met on this case,” Frank Ferguson , head of the Crown Prosecution Service. Stated the Particular Service of the Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division.
Following Kaba’s homicide in September 2022, anti-racist protesters took to the streets of London demanding justice.
Kaba’s household referred to as for accountability in a press release, saying, “We’re involved that if Chris had not been black, he would have been arrested Monday evening and his life wouldn’t have been lower brief.”
Based on official figures, black persons are more likely to be stopped and searched by police than some other ethnic group.