Chris Kaba car chase footage shared for first time, after armed officer tells murder trial he feared for his life
by Kit Heren · LBCBy Kit Heren
Dashcam footage of the car pursuit of Chris Kaba that led to his death in south London has been released for the first time.
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The 24-year-old black man was shot through a windscreen by armed officer Martyn Blake, now 40, on September 5, 2022, as the Audi he was driving was being pursued through Streatham.
Now police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct has released several minutes of footage of the car passing through the streets.
Earlier on Thursday, the Old Bailey heard that police vehicles had been planning a tactical stop of the Audi Q8, which had been linked to a shooting in Brixton the night before but as it turned from New Park Road onto Kirkstall Gardens, “plans had to change”.
Blake has denied murder, as the jury heard his initial report after the shooting had claimed he thought he and his colleagues were at risk.
Read more: Met Police marksman to face trial over fatal shooting of Chris Kaba
“The driver drove his vehicle at great speed towards myself [and my colleague] to escape. I had a genuine belief that either of us could be killed and moved right, out of the way”, Blake said in his post-incident account.
“The driver then rammed our car, which was behind me, as well as a parked car and stopped, wedged.
“The male had already shown a propensity to use violence and was happy to use any means to escape and I had a genuine held belief that one or many of my colleagues could be killed by the car, and that the driver would not stop his attempt to escape at any cost.”
He added: “I then made the decision to incapacitate the driver due to the imminent threat to my colleagues and took one aimed shot at the driver. He immediately slumped and the car stopped.”
Prosecutor Tom Little KC argued that “in a number of material respects, that account is false and exaggerated in other parts”.
He claimed there was ‘no justification’ for Mr Kaba to be shot, as he said the efforts to escape a roadblock on Kirkstall Gardens were with speeds that were “not particularly fast”.
Dashcam and body worn footage from the police officers on the scene were played, in which Mr Little said: “DS87’s body worn camera reveals that Chris Kaba was in the driver’s seat with his right hand on the wheel and his left arm was half in the air.
“He is holding nothing - other than the steering wheel in his right hand.”
Chris Kaba was shot through the windscreen of the Audi by Martyn Blake - also known as NX121 - just seconds after the car had turned onto Kirkstall Gardens.
Mr Little told the jury: “[Mr Blake] had not activated his body worn camera.
He did so seconds after he had discharged his firearm but the prior 60 seconds of footage on the camera are automatically captured.”
Sound from the body worn videos of other officers on the scene were played, in which shouts of "shots fired" and "where from?" could be heard.
First aid was ordered moments after the shot was fired, CPR was given, and the London Ambulance Service was called.
Mr Kaba died in hospital hours later.
Blake has denied the charge of murder and his trial at the Old Bailey is set to continue for up to three weeks.
On Thursday, a Tactical Firearms Commander (TFC), referred to as HA62, gave evidence in the trial of Martyn Blake for the murder of 24-year-old Mr Kaba on September 5 2022.
He had been on duty that night and had declared a firearms incident and ordered the "enforced stop with extraction" after a suspect Audi that Mr Kaba had been driving was identified in south London.
HA62 confirmed that Blake was a trained Tactical Firearms Adviser who he had served with more than once before.
Patrick Gibbs KC, defending, asked: "What did you make of his temperament?"
The witness said: "Calm, collected."
Asked about his judgement, HA62 replied: "Sound."
Mr Gibbs said: "Did you ever see him angry or frustrated or annoyed or letting that get in the way of doing the job right?"
The witness replied: "No."
Previously, the prosecution has asserted that Blake may have had an emotional reaction to Mr Kaba's failed attempts to ram police vehicles and escape in the seconds before he was shot.
HA62 went on to tell jurors he was unaware that Blake had originally been rostered on to be the Tactical Firearms Adviser in the Special Operations Room that night but had swapped to an Armed Response Vehicle (ARV).
At 9.52pm, HA62 was made aware of the sighting of an Audi linked to multiple reports of the discharge of a gunshot outside a school in Brixton the night before.
Three minutes later, he declared a firearms incident and requested to pass tactics on to the "Trojan Unit" (ARV).
At 9.56pm, the message was relayed for an enforced stop with extraction of the Audi.
The message stated it was "involved in a shooting with a shotgun outside a school 24 hours ago", was one of the "getaway vehicles", and had not been stopped since.
The witness confirmed that he was aware that no victim had been identified or firearm recovered and the suspects were still at large.
Over the next 10 minutes, a number of ARVs joined the "Alpha" police car that had identified and begun to follow the Audi in Camberwell.
The Audi went on a circuitous route, leading HA62 to suspect the driver was aware of the police presence.
At 9.58pm, a helicopter was deployed and was sending a live video feed when Mr Kaba was shot at 10.07pm in Kirkstall Gardens in Streatham, jurors heard.
From that point, no officer involved in the incident was allowed to confer with each other unless there was an "operational necessity", the witness said.
Cross-examining, Mr Gibbs asked why it would matter if Mr Kaba knew the police were behind him before officers performed the armed stop.
The officer said the knowledge would give a suspect the chance to prepare themselves for action.
Mr Gibbs said: "If there was maybe or believed to be the possibility of a weapon in the car why does it matter they have time to prepare?"
HA62 replied: "Because they can ready their weapon."
Jurors have heard that no firearm was found in the Audi.
Mr Gibbs asked if the risk to officers surrounding the car became greater the longer the operation went on.
HA62 agreed.
The Tactical Firearms Adviser on the night, an officer known as AC38, told jurors that the enforced stop with extraction tactic was one of the most serious that can be used by firearms teams, under questioning by prosecutor Tom Little KC.
The witness defended the decision-making that night, saying that "doing nothing was not an option".
AC38 added that it would have been "hugely wrong" if the officers had not taken the opportunity to stop any potential future crime.