The acquittal of the police officer who shot dead Chris Kaba has raised questions over whether he should have stood trial in the first place.
A jury only took three hours to clear Metropolitan Police officer Martyn Blake of Mr Kaba’s murder at the Old Bailey on Monday.
Kaba, 24, was killed with a single shot to the head in Brixton, south London, on the night of 5 September 2022 – after he rammed his Audi Q8 into police cars trying to block his path.
Mr Blake, 40, told the court: “I had a genuine belief that there was an imminent threat to life, I thought one or more of my colleagues was about to die.”
Matt Cane, the general secretary of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said Mr Blake “should never have stood trial” and his fellow officers “remain astonished that a brave colleague could be charged with murder”.
Kaba’s family say the acquittal proves “his life does not matter to the system”, while their campaign team organised by the charity Inquest claim the outcome “reinforces the harsh reality that police can kill without consequence”.
Here we look at the rules on when police officers can shoot suspects.
Rules for armed officers
The rules on police officers and guns are governed by Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which gives police officers the right to “use reasonable force”.
More generally they have a legal framework in the Common Law right to self-defence or the protection of others – and Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights (EHCR).
They state that officers should only discharge firearms to “prevent a real and immediate threat to life by shooting to stop the subject from carrying out their course of action”.
This should be done by shooting them in the torso, but if it is “imperative the subject is immediately incapacitated”, they are allowed to aim for the person’s head.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Read more
Other high-profile fatal police shootings
Details of Chris Kaba’s criminal past revealed
This should only happen when “absolutely necessary in defence of a person when there is a real and immediate risk to life from unlawful violence”.
The number of shots fired “depends on the circumstances”, the regulations add, and the “use of excessive force is strictly prohibited”.
When shots are fired, the following things must also happen:
• Exercising restraint and acting in proportion to the seriousness of the offence being committed;
• Minimising damage and injury where possible;
• Ensuring medical aid is given at the earliest opportunity;
• Reporting any death or serious injury to the officer’s superiors;
• Punishing any “arbitrary” or “abusive” use of force by criminal law;
• Not allowing public emergencies or internal political instability to be used as an excuse
What have people said about the Chris Kaba case – and the outcome?
Statistics show that since 1990, police in England and Wales have shot and killed 83 people in the line of duty. None have ever been convicted of murder – although there have been a small number of criminal prosecutions.
Most recently Tony Long was acquitted of Azelle Rodney’s murder after he fatally shot him six times in London in 2005.
The CPS has defended its decision to bring the Chris Kaba case in the wake of the trial. It acknowledged how “complex and sensitive” it was, but said: “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.
“It is therefore right that the case was put before the jury for them to scrutinise and to decide. They have carefully considered each piece of evidence, including video and Martyn Blake’s own account. They have made up their minds in the proper way and we thank them for doing so.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “very difficult case” that has caused “deep concerns for communities and police officers”.
Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel defended Mr Blake, arguing he has been through a “traumatic ordeal”, which raises “important questions for the CPS to answer over the evidence base they had”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Mr Kaba’s MP, Labour’s Bell Ribeiro-Addy, said the trial reinforces the principle that “nobody is above the law” and that there are huge issues around trust in the police – “particularly within the black community”.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is yet to conclude whether Mr Blake’s actions amounted to ‘gross misconduct’ and should therefore mean he is dismissed.
It said: “Ultimately it is a jury’s decision, having carefully considered all the evidence, to determine guilt or innocence and we respect that decision and thank them for their consideration.”
It added: “Armed policing plays a crucial part in protecting our communities and keeping the public safe from danger. Firearms officers can, and do, find themselves in extremely dangerous and volatile situations where they are forced to make difficult and quick decisions under intense pressure.”
But it highlighted that only one other of its investigations into fatal police shootings – of 26 in the past 10 years – have met the threshold for criminal prosecution.
