Met police marksman 'may have been angry' when he shot Chris Kaba

A Scotland Yard firearms officer murdered a man, shooting him dead in his car without justification, a court heard today.

Martyn Blake, 40, fatally shot Chris Kaba in the head when he was in the driving seat of an Audi Q8 after he tried to 'escape' police.

The Old Bailey heard that the killing was 'not necessary nor 'reasonably justified' as the 27-year-old motorist had 'both hands on the steering wheel' and he presented no lethal threat at the time.

The shooting on September 5, 2022 happened moments after Mr Kaba attempted to escape police by ramming a police vehicle when his car was blocked in.

But Prosecutor Tom Little, KC, said the vehicle was stationary at the time of the police shooting, adding: 'Nothing Chris Kaba did in the seconds before he was shot justified the defendant's decision to shoot.'

He went on: 'There was, we say, no real or immediate threat to the life of anybody present at the scene and at the all-important point in time when the defendant fired that fatal shot.'

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Blake did not know the victim and jurors were told they would have to consider whether the Met firearms officer was 'angry, frustrated and annoyed' that Kaba had not obeyed police instructions when he fired the fatal shot.

Mr Little told the court: 'This case involves a decision by this defendant to shoot Chris Kaba with an intention to kill…

'It was a decision to shoot which was taken when, we say, the unassailable evidence of what actually took place that night reveals that it was not reasonably justified or justifiable.

'For a firearms officer to shoot and kill it should, understandably, be a remedy of last resort. 

'The body worn footage and footage from cameras on police vehicles, reveals, we say, that it was not necessary to shoot.'

Mr Kaba's mother Helen Lumuanganu sobbed in the court as the case was opened today.

The court heard that the vehicle Mr Kaba was driving had been reported to police the night before when members of the public called 999 saying they had heard gunshots in Brixton and a man had been seen with a shotgun.

Witnesses said three men, wearing dark hoodies, had changed their clothes and got into two vehicles and had driven away.

They provided a registration number for one of the vehicles.

Armed police decided to stop the car that Chris Kaba was subsequently driving on September 5 after it was found to be a match to the vehicle involved in reported shooting, jurors heard.

Mr Kaba is said to have tried to escape pursuing police vehicles.

Today Mr Kaba's sobbing mother was hugged by relatives as footage was played in court showing the victim revving back and forwards in the Audi attempting to flee police seconds before he was shot.

But Mr Little told jurors this was not the 'life-threatening' position that the defendant claims as Kaba's car had been wedged in and no officers were in immediate danger.

He said: 'The reality is that the defendant discharged his firearm at the point that the vehicle that Chris Kaba was in was stationary and when there were no officers directly behind that vehicle and when the prospect of him being able to escape was not obvious.'

The defendant showed no emotion in the dock as police body worn footage of the shooting was played to jurors.

Blake denies murder.