A UK police officer is currently on trial for the shooting of a young black man in London, which occurred two years ago.
Martyn Blake, 40, a firearms officer, has denied the charge of murdering 24-year-old Chris Kaba, who was fatally shot on September 5, 2022.
The case was brought to court at the Old Bailey, where prosecutors stated that the shooting was “not reasonably justified or defensible.”
Kaba was killed by a single gunshot fired into his car while he was driving in Streatham, south London. Police had been following his vehicle, which was linked to an earlier firearms incident, and they forced him to stop.
According to the court, Kaba was attempting to drive away when he was shot. However, the prosecution argued that there was “no real or immediate threat to anyone’s life at the scene.”
Prosecutor Tom Little explained, “The officer must have intended to incapacitate the driver. He fired one shot, directly hitting Kaba in the head. He was trained to use firearms and would have known that firing in this manner would almost certainly result in death.”
In the UK, police officers typically do not carry firearms, with only a small number of officers authorised to use guns. This trial has gained attention because prosecutions of police officers are rare. When London police announced Blake’s charge last year, many of his colleagues protested by stepping back from their firearm duties.
