EXCLUSIVEFury as Met cop Martyn Blake is found not guilty of murdering Chris Kaba but may not be allowed back to work until next year
Met firearms officer Martyn Blake is still unable to return to work despite being cleared of murdering Chris Kaba because the threat of a police watchdog misconduct hearing hangs over him, MailOnline can reveal today.
Met firearms officer Martyn Blake is still unable to return to work despite being cleared of murdering Chris Kaba because the threat of a police watchdog misconduct hearing hangs over him, MailOnline can reveal today.
The marksman, 40, walked free from the Old Bailey yesterday after a jury cleared him in just three hours following a near-three-week trial.
Sgt Blake, also known as officer NX121, told the Central Criminal Court that he feared for his life when he killed Kaba after he had tried to ram his way out of a police stop in an Audi Q8 that police believed was linked to a firearms incident the night before.
Yet despite his swift acquittal and major questions for the CPS over whether he should ever have been charged, Mr Blake now faces the prospect of a disciplinary hearing brought by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
His suspension by the Met was immediately lifted last night but it could be months before the watchdog makes the decision whether to proceed with a misconduct hearing.
Sgt Blake has been suspended from work since the night of the shooting: Sunday, September 5, 2022.
Tory MP Neil O’Brien said today: ‘After two years suspended, a police officer who volunteered to be in harms way tackling Britains most dangerous criminals got cleared in court. Why on earth are IOPC to "consider whether Mr Blake should face a disciplinary hearing?’
One former armed officer said: ‘As someone who carried a firearm in specialist roles for years I simply cant understand how he was charged. The officer now faces a malign misconduct hearing process. The IOPC are simply unfit for purpose’.
While Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick said today: Martyn Blake has been found not guilty. He has been treated very badly. He shouldnt have been dragged through the courts like this. Just imagine what he has been through over recent months. This has been an appalling experience for him and we should be supporting him right now.
Metropolitan Police marksman Martyn Blake, 40, has been cleared at the Old Bailey of the murder of Chris Kaba, 24, who was fatally shot in Streatham, south-east London, on September 5, 2022. Sgt Blake is not able to return to work despite the verdict
The scene in Kirkstall Gardens, Streatham Hill, south London, where Mr Kaba was shot by armed officers from the Metropolitan Police following a pursuit
Footage of the moment armed officers ran towards Mr Kabas car which was hemmed in. He tried to drive away
Mr Kabas vehicle was hemmed in by marked and unmarked police cars during the incident where he was shot through the windscreen
The head of Britains biggest police force warned yesterday that crushing good officers makes the streets less safe after a police marksman was cleared of murder.
Sir Mark Rowley said the system holding police to account is broken after Sgt Blake was put on trial for murder because he shot motorist Chris Kaba to save other officers from being run over.
Sergeant Blake, 40, was cleared in just three hours yesterday leaving the Crown Prosecution Service facing questions about why the landmark case was brought after jurors wholeheartedly rejected accusations he shot the 24-year-old without justification.
In an extraordinary case which has profound implications for national security, hundreds of firearms officers around the country downed their weapons in protest when the officer was charged as colleagues argued that he was just trying to save them.
Last night the Met Commissioner praised his officers bravery, while and Mr Jenrick described Mr Blake as a hero saying his prosecution had endangered the public.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said the system holding police to account is broken after firearms officer Martyn Blake was put on trial for murder because he shot motorist Chris Kaba
The fatal shooting on September 5, 2022, happened after armed police started tailing the vehicle Mr Kaba was driving because the Audi Q8 had been linked to a shooting the night before in Brixton, south London.
When police boxed in the vehicle in a residential street in Streatham, Mr Kaba used the car as a battering ram reversing into a police car before accelerating into parked cars in a desperate bid to escape. Apparently ready to run over anyone standing in his way, Mr Kaba revved back and forth in the high-powered Audi almost dragging the ten officers surrounding him under the wheels.
Mr Blake finally ended the rampage by firing a single fatal shot through the windscreen killing the driver.
Former justice secretary Mr Jenrick said: Martyn Blake was a hero who found himself fearing for his life and the life of his colleagues.
His prosecution was wrong and endangered the public. We must back our brave police officers, and not drag them through the courts for making split-second decisions.
The Met Commissioner said last night: We have been clear that the system holding police to account is broken.
The more we crush the spirit of good officers, the less they can fight crime. That risks London becoming less safe.
Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel, said: This...case has had a huge reputational impact on his career and on the force at large.
There are important questions for the CPS to answer over the evidence base they had and their reasons for pursuing it.
During the three week trial, a succession of officers claimed they would have shot Mr Kaba if Mr Blake had not acted.
Separately, Mr Kabas parents Prosper Kaba and Helen Lumuanganu are set to launch a civil claim which may include considering the grounds for appeal.
Members of Mr Kabas family rocked back and forth as the verdict was delivered. They said: The not guilty verdict leaves us with the deep pain of injustice.
The 16 minutes of mayhem that left Sergeant Martyn Blake in the dock accused of murder
Emotional demonstrators attend the protests after the trial verdict where Blake was cleared of murder today
Protesters gather after the trial verdict where Blake was cleared of Mr Kabas murder
A banner was held that said We Keep Each Other Safe, as well as placards saying Justice for Chris Kaba, and chants of Say his name - Chris Kaba and No justice - no peace were heard outside the court
It comes after more than 200 protesters gathered outside the Old Bailey with Mr Kabas family on Monday evening.
A banner was held that said We Keep Each Other Safe, as well as placards saying Justice for Chris Kaba, and chants of Say his name - Chris Kaba and No justice - no peace were heard outside the court.
Mr Kabas family said the verdict was a failure for all those affected by police violence, adding that no family should endure the unimaginable grief we have faced.
In a statement issued by campaign group Inquest, Mr Kabas family said they would continue fighting for Chris, for justice, and for real change.
Some protesters bore signs including ‘ashamed to be white’ and ‘born 1999, lynched 2022’ in reference to the death of Kaba.
Breaking down in tears, Sheeda Queen, a cousin of Mr Kaba, told the crowd the speed of Martyn Blake’s acquittal was ‘shameful’.
She said: ‘My family can’t be here. On the first day, when we started the trial, we watched footage of Chris being killed. We carried on watching it because it was part of the evidence.
‘My auntie started shaking.. crying uncontrollably. My auntie and uncle both got health conditions because of this trauma.’
Amid chants of ‘shame’, she added: ‘We had some hope, just a little, that maybe Chris’s case would be the first.
‘Are we surprised though? So shameful that we are not surprised the verdict came back guilty in a couple of hours.’
Protestors beat drums to the chant of ‘no justice, no peace’ as police officers watched the crowd nervously.
Temi Mwale of the Justice for Chris Kaba Campaign, said: ‘That’s what this country likes, racism,’, adding: ‘It is a falsehood to believe that we should justify these institutions, the policing... as the only thing that can keep us safe.’
Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who is supporting the family, said the trial showed that nobody is above the law and called for urgent efforts to rebuild trust between police and communities.
Mr Kabas vehicle was hemmed in by marked and unmarked police cars during the incident
Kayza Rose, Sheeda Queen (cousin) and Temi Mawale speak to the media after the trial verdict
People demonstrate outside the Old Bailey in central London after a police marksman who fatally shot Chris Kaba has been cleared of his murder
Weve got to respect the process and the verdict but (the family) rightfully have questions, Ms Ribeiro-Addy, who attended the protest on Monday, told the PA news agency.
I support the right to protest. I support the right people have to ask questions. Its important we hold our officers to account. We have a system of policing with consent in this country.
The Crown Prosecution Service and the watchdog that investigated the shooting sought to defend the decision to bring criminal charges against Mr Blake, 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.
Frank Ferguson, of the CPS, said: This has been a complex case and the decision to prosecute was made after in-depth consideration of the available evidence.
We recognise firearms officers operate under enormous pressure, but it is our responsibility to put cases before a jury that meet our test for prosecution.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she would work with forces to strengthen confidence for the future, while the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners said it would reflect on the wider implications of the case.
The original decision to charge Mr Blake in September 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.
David Spencer, the head of crime and justice at Policy Exchange and a former senior Met police officer, said it spoke volumes that the jury took just three hours to return its verdict.
He told The Telegraph: Police firearms officers in England and Wales were deployed on 17,589 operations for the year to March 2024 – they intentionally discharged their firearms only twice.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan claimed: Theres clearly still a wider lack of trust in the police, particularly within the Black community, that needs to be addressed
Protesters gather outside the Old Bailey to demonstrate their opposition to the verdict of not guilty in the case of the fatal shooting of Chris Kaba by Metropolitan Police Firearms Officer Martyn Blake
This case, like the massive fall in stop and search, shows the systems for holding officers to account are preventing police officers from doing their job – something that is to the detriment of the law-abiding majority of people in this country and benefits only the criminal minority.
The Police Federation of England & Waless acting deputy national chair, Brian Booth, said the ramifications of the NX121 case going to court has gone far wider than the boundary of the Metropolitan Police Service adding that officers across the other 42 forces are rightly asking what protection they have when doing such a dangerous, complex and demanding job.
He added: The Government must now urgently implement the Accountability Review recommendations so that legal safeguards can be established to allow police officers to have the confidence to do their job, serving and protecting the public.
Former Met marksman Tony Long, cleared of murder over the 2005 shooting of Azelle Rodney, said of Sgt Blakes case: There was not a shred of evidence . . . it was a flawed prosecution.
He added to The Sun: The case was weighed heavily against Martyn Blake.
Following the verdict, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: I respect the decision made by the jury today following a full examination of a large amount of evidence – including video from the incident.
In London, we police by consent. When anyone loses their life following contact with the police, its important that it is properly and thoroughly investigated, which is whats happened in this case.
Firearms officers work under the most extraordinary pressure, carrying with them unique responsibilities and often putting themselves in harms way to protect others.
I understand the impact Chris Kabas death has had on Londons communities and the anger, pain and fear it has caused. I send my heartfelt sympathies to Chris Kabas family, friends and the wider community once again.
Theres clearly still a wider lack of trust in the police, particularly within the Black community, that needs to be addressed.
As Mayor, I will continue to work with the Government to support and hold the Metropolitan Police to account to ensure any lessons are learnt and the Met commands the trust of all Londoners as we build a safer London for everyone.
