The investigation into the police shooting of an unarmed black man will examine whether race was a factor but will not conclude until next year, a watchdog has said.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it was in discussions with prosecutors about the investigation and expected it would commission expert analysis to work out what happened at the scene in south London before Chris Kaba was shot once in the head.
The family of Kaba, 24, and the Metropolitan police firearms officer under investigation for possible homicide offences face a long wait.
Once the IOPC concludes its investigation there may be a further delay while prosecutors decide whether or not to bring charges. If no charges follow, there is expected to be an inquiry, which will also act as the inquest into the death.
The IOPC will also have to decide whether it believes disciplinary charges should be brought.
The Kaba family’s solicitor, Daniel Machover, condemned the length of time the investigation would take. He said: “Six to nine months for this investigation is unacceptably long and lacks urgency and indicates insufficient resources to do the job. Meanwhile, the IOPC continue to withhold basic information from the family.”
Kaba was shot while sitting in the driver’s seat of an Audi in Streatham. The car was not registered to him and came to police attention when its registration plate triggered an intelligence system linking the vehicle to an earlier alleged firearms incident.
A pursuit followed and the Audi was struck by a police vehicle before coming to a stop in a residential street. Then a single shot was fired through the driver-side window by the officer, killing Kaba.
The officer is yet to be interviewed under criminal caution, and is expected to say he fired believing there was a threat to his life or those of others.
Kaba’s family have been critical of the IOPC investigation, which started by treating the officer as a witness.
The IOPC said some of the issues its investigation would examine included “how the officers came to be aware of the vehicle Mr Kaba was driving; if they had any prior knowledge of Mr Kaba; and their decision-making and actions. We will also examine whether or not Mr Kaba’s race influenced any actions taken by the police.”
The IOPC’s regional director for London, Sal Naseem, said the complexity of the investigation meant it could take up to nine months to complete, and he confirmed an earlier Guardian story that the family would be allowed to see police video of the incident.
“We have also advised Chris’s family that we aim to complete our investigation within six to nine months,” he said. “We understand that people want answers quickly, but this is a complex investigation involving a significant amount of evidence. There are a number of enquiries to carry out over the coming weeks and months, including expert analysis.”
The IOPC said: “The law requires us to produce a detailed final report that accurately summarises all relevant evidence before we can decide whether to refer a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, whose role it would be to determine whether or not criminal charges will follow.”
The Met assistant commissioner Amanda Pearson said the force had been trying to allay concerns and anger by talking to community groups and to its own firearms officers, who have been angered by the suspension of their colleague after he was placed under criminal investigation.
She said: “We are also talking to our firearms officers who continue to fulfil their duties across London, seizing suspected weapons, undertaking firearms warrants and responding to spontaneous incidents.”
