A police marksman tried for murder over the death of Chris Kaba has made “a huge personal and professional sacrifice” during the two years since the shooting, Britain’s most senior officer has said.
Speaking outside Scotland Yard on Monday, Sir Mark Rowley said Martyn Blake had made “a split second decision on what he believed was necessary to protect his colleagues and to protect London”.
The Crown Prosecution Service and the watchdog that investigated the shooting both spoke out to defend bringing criminal charges, saying the decision was made after an in-depth consideration of the evidence and that it was right to put the case before a jury.
Mr Kaba’s family including his parents, who sat through more than two weeks of painstaking analysis of their son’s death, pledged to “continue fighting” following the verdict.
They issued a statement that said: “Today, we are devastated. The not guilty verdict leaves us with the deep pain of injustice adding to the unbearable sorrow we have felt since Chris was killed.
“No family should endure the unimaginable grief we have faced. Chris was stolen from us, and this decision shows his life — and many others like him — does not matter to the system. Our son deserved better.”
The original decision to charge Mr Blake in December last year sparked outrage among his colleagues, with dozens of armed officers downing tools in apparent protest and the army being put on standby to plug the gap.
On Monday, Sir Mark again criticised the systems used to hold police officers who take lethal shots to account.
“No police officer is above the law, but we have been clear that the system holding police to account is broken,” he said.
“I worry about the lack of support officers face for doing their best, but most of all, I worry for the public.
“The more we crush the spirit of good officers, the less they can fight crime that risks London becoming less safe.”
Mr Blake, 40, stood trial at the Old Bailey after shooting the 24-year-old through the front windscreen of an Audi Q8 in Streatham, south-east London, on September 5 2022.
The jury deliberated for three hours on Monday to clear Mr Blake who appeared to be briefly overcome with emotion as the verdict was returned.
He breathed out, puffed his cheeks and turned away in an apparent show of relief.
The family of Mr Kaba, who sat in the well of the court, sat in stony silence and made no immediate reaction.
One relative could be seen rocking backwards and forwards as the verdict was given, and the group walked away from the courtroom in the Old Bailey in silence, accompanied by their police family liaison officer.
The trial heard how the Audi had been used as a getaway vehicle in a shooting the previous evening, and was hemmed in by police cars in Kirkstall Gardens after an officer recognised its registration number.
Mr Kaba drove backwards and forwards trying to ram his way free, which Mr Blake told jurors made him believe one of his colleagues was about to die, and so he opened fire to stop the car.
A fellow firearms officer known as DS87 said he would have taken a shot if Mr Blake had not, and another identified by the cypher E156 said he was “fractions of a second” away from doing the same.
Another, NX109, got the finger of his glove caught in the Audi’s door handle and just managed to wrench it free as it moved forward, telling the jury he thought he would be dragged between it and a Tesla parked nearby.
Prosecutors argued that Mr Blake had misjudged the risk, exaggerated the threat to his colleagues in statements following the shooting, and had aimed at Mr Kaba’s head, all of which he denied.
In his defence, jurors heard a series of glowing testimonials from colleagues and senior officers.
Defence barrister Patrick Gibbs KC said Mr Blake was no “RoboCop” with the “nanosecond” reactions of a computer.
He told jurors: “He is not a robot, he is a human being with a human brain who did this to the best of his ability.”
Police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct will now consider whether Mr Blake should face a disciplinary hearing.
We recognise that firearms officers operate under enormous pressure, but it is our responsibility to put cases before a jury that meet our test for prosecution, and we are satisfied that test was met in this case
Mr Blake had never fired a gun at a human being, or seen a gun fired at a human being, before the night Mr Kaba died.
Jurors heard that those close to Mr Blake had been hesitant about him becoming a police marksman but that he felt it was “the best job” in the Metropolitan Police.
The jury of nine men and three women had asked to make a statement to the court alongside their verdict, but permission was denied by Mr Justice Goss.
Official figures show that in England and Wales in the year to March 2023 there were 18,395 police firearms operations.
Police weapons were deliberately fired at 10 of these incidents, resulting in three fatalities.
