Met police officer Martyn Blake shot and killed 24-year-old unarmed Chris Kaba with a single shot to the head from a distance of up to six metres, but has been found not guilty of murder.
This outrageous decision by a misled jury led to immediate protests, with a demonstrations held last night outside the Old Bailey.
Even though the prosecution showed that Blake’s initial statement that Kaba’s car was being driven at him, forcing him to move to avoid being killed was false in “a number of material respects”, Blake still argued he feared for his life. Chris’s Audi car was surrounded by other police cars and officers.
Blake claimed he thought Chris Kaba was going to use his car as a “battering ram”, with no supporting evidence. The veracity witness statements from other cops were also questioned by the prosecution. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty in just three hours.
83 shot dead by police since 1990 – but no officers found guilty of murder
Chris Kaba – shot dead on 22 September 2022 – was the 83rd person killed by police shooting since 1990, yet not a single police officer has been convicted of murder.
A Kaba family statement said of the verdict: “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.
“The acquittal of Martyn Blake isn’t just a failure for our family, but for all those affected by police violence.”
No justice no peace – support the Justice for Chris Kaba campaign: https://www.justiceforchriskaba.org/
Support the United Friends & Family Campaign annual rally.
