Met Police marksman Martyn Blake cleared of the murder of Chris Kaba

A police officer who fatally shot Chris Kaba has been found not guilty of his murder.

Martyn Blake, 40, stood trial at the Old Bailey for killing the 24-year-old by firing through the windscreen of an Audi Q8 in Streatham, south London, on 5 September 2022.

The vehicle was linked to a shooting from the night before and was blocked by police vehicles in Kirkstall Gardens following recognition of its number plate.

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Attempting to escape, Mr Kaba repeatedly drove backwards and forwards, prompting Mr Blake to fire because he feared a fellow officer might be killed, the court was told.

One fellow marksmen, known only as DS87, testified he would have fired if Mr Blake didn't, with another, E156, saying he was "fractions of a second" away from shooting.

Another colleague, NX109, had a narrow escape after his glove got caught on the Audi's door handle, pulling free just as the car moved, fearing he might be dragged along.

The prosecution suggested Mr Blake overestimated the danger, misrepresented the threat level post-shooting, and aimed for Mr Kaba's head, claims he refuted.

Defence barrister Patrick Gibbs KC said Mr Blake was no “RoboCop”with the “nanosecond” reactions of a computer.

He told jurors: “He is not a robot, he is a human being with a human brain who did this to the best of his ability.”

Police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct will now consider whether Mr Blake should face a disciplinary hearing.

Questions have already been raised about how firearms officers are held to account in fatal shootings, with dozens of Mr Blake’s colleagues downing tools when he was first charged with murder.

Police bosses raised concerns that officers would no longer be willing to volunteer to take on firearms training due to the levels of scrutiny that they could face if they had to take a fatal shot.

Mr Blake had never fired a gun at a human being, or seen a gun fired at a human being, before the night Mr Kaba died.

The jury heard that those close to Mr Blake had been hesitant about him becoming a police marksman but that he felt it was “the best job” in the Metropolitan Police.

Official figures show that in England and Wales in the year to March 2023 there were 18,395 police firearms operations.

Police weapons were deliberately fired at 10 of these incidents, resulting in three fatalities.