Armed police need more legal protection, says Met chief, after officer acquitted of Chris…

October 23, 2024, 7:06 AM

The chief of the Met Police is insisting that armed police are protected from prosecution amid concerns about the impact of criminal investigations on firearms officers following the trial into the death of Chris Kaba.

Mark Rowley wants armed police to be exempt from criminal charges for shootings unless prosecutors can prove the officer in question has undergone the training.

Rowley also wants investigations to be expedited so that officers spend less time entangled in criminal investigations and disciplinary proceedings, the Times reported.

He called the accountability system “broken” and said he worries it could lead to a loss of morale among firearms officers.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary is reviving a former Conservative inquiry into how armed officers are held accountable after shootings.

Read more: Met Police marksman acquitted of murder of Chris Kaba who had to go into hiding after gangsters placed £10,000 bounty on his head

Read more: Chris Kaba was ‘core member’ of one of London’s most dangerous gangs who ‘shot’ rivals days before death

It comes after a jury took just three hours to acquit firearms officer Martyn Blake of shooting alleged violent gangster and gunman Chris Kaba in September 2022.

The acquittal raised questions about why Blake had been prosecuted in the first place and why the court had allowed him to be publicly named.

On Tuesday it emerged that Kaba’s former gang ’67’ had placed a £10,000 bounty on Blake after the shooting. He is now in hiding.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is separately investigating whether Mr Blake continues to face disciplinary proceedings, which could lead to him being dismissed from the force.

Prosecution of officer who shot Chris Kaba was a ‘catastrophic waste of resources,’ says criminal lawyer

Keir Starmer declined to comment on the jury’s decision in the trial, but told reporters his government would adopt the accountability review launched by the previous Tory government.

When she was home secretary, Suella Braverman promised to overhaul the ways in which firearms officers who make fatal shots are held accountable by 2023.

Plans to allow suspended officers to make quicker decisions and provide greater clarity for victims were among the changes touted by the previous administration.

Tory ministers also considered raising the threshold for referring firearms officers for prosecution.

On the way to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa, Starmer told reporters: “We are going to take this up and complete the accountability review because it is important that the public has confidence in the police, including of course the armed police. “

Caller Milad responds to the Chris Kaba case

The Prime Minister added: “It is also important that the police know that we have confidence in them to do a very difficult job, so we will tackle that.

“The Home Secretary will make a statement tomorrow updating the House on where we stand on that review, so further details will be available to you tomorrow (Wednesday).”

Blake, 40, stood trial at the Old Bailey after shooting the 24-year-old through the windscreen of an Audi Q8 in Streatham, south-east London, on September 5, 2022.

The car had been used as a getaway vehicle in a shooting the night before and was closed in by police cars in Kirkstall Gardens after an officer recognized the license plate.

Mr. Kaba drove back and forth trying to force his way through, which jurors said Blake led him to believe that one of his colleagues was about to die, so he opened fire to stop the car .

He was acquitted of murder on Monday.

During the pre-trial proceedings it was alleged that those linked to the 67 gang, of which Kaba was a core member, tried to kill a police officer in retaliation for the acquittal, according to The Sun.

Sergeant Blake’s counsel Patrick Gibbs KC quoted an intelligence report on the bounty and said: ‘The amount offered was £10,000. . . in exchange for personal details of Martyn Blake, including addresses and vehicle registration numbers.

“The threat of harm was directed at both Mr Blake and his family.”

A former colleague said: “Martyn will be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life.”

Supt Ross McKibbin, of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said: “In almost 30 years of service I have never been so concerned about the welfare of an officer.”

Kaba was a ‘core member’ of one of London’s most dangerous criminal gangs and is believed to be directly linked to two shootings in the six days before he was shot dead by police.

The 24-year-old is said to have shot a rival in the legs at a nightclub six days before he died in September 2022, and would have faced trial for attempted murder had he survived.

It was also determined that he had gunshot residue on his sleeve and a balaclava in his pocket the night he was killed by a police sniper, which was reportedly evidence that he had been involved in a second shooting the night before.

He had a previous conviction for weapons possession, and the Audi he was driving when he was killed was linked to three previous firearms incidents in five months.