Met police officer who shot and killed drill rapper Chris Kaba cleared of murder

The Met police officer who shot and killed 24-year-old Chris Kaba on September 5, 2022, has been acquitted of murder.

Kaba, known for being a member of the drill group 67 who worked under the aliases Itch and Madix, was unarmed when Sergeant Martyn Blake opened fire after stopping his car on a residential street in Streatham, South London.

The jury, who were shown footage of the incident filmed on the officer’s bodycam, took three hours to come to their decision.

Speaking after the trial, Kaba’s family said: “The not guilty verdict leaves us with the deep pain of injustice adding to the unbearable sorrow we have felt since Chris was killed.

"The acquittal of Martyn Blake isn't just a failure for our family, but for all those affected by police violence."

Kayza Rose, a member of the Justice for Chris Kaba campaign group, said: “This outcome reinforces the harsh reality that police can kill without consequence."

"The fight for accountability, for justice, and for racial equality has spanned decades," she continued. "We honour all those who have contributed to that fight. Those that came before us, whose shoulders we stand on today. We are reminded that there is nothing for us in this criminal, legal system."

Yesterday evening, Monday October 21, a group of about 150 people gathered outside the Old Bailey where the trial was held, with banners reading: “We Keep Each Other Safe” and “Justice for Chris Kaba”.

The family, who have been campaigning for Blake’s conviction ever since the fatal shooting, have said they will continue fighting for "justice" and “real change", in a statement issued by the charity Inquest.

Meanwhile, speaking outside New Scotland yard, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley issued a statement reading: "No firearms officer sets out on duty intent with ending a life. Their sole purpose is the complete opposite, the protection and preservation of life."

He believes that Blake, who was suspended from duty after the incident, has already paid a “huge personal and professional sacrifice” and worries about the “lack of support officers face for doing their best”.

“But most of all,” he continues. “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.”

Kaba, who was due to become a father at the time of his murder, was driving a black Audi Q8 when the firearms officer shot a bullet through his car’s windscreen.

The Audi Q8 had been surrounded by six police cars and a helicopter that were following the vehicle because it was believed to be linked to a shooting in Brixton the night before.

The officers did not know who was in the car.

In released bodycam footage, Kaba’s car reverses backwards and drives forwards, hitting into police vehicles, as officers run towards his vehicle.

During the trial, Blake (who had exited a car blocking Kaba in at the front) argued that Kaba was using the Audi as a weapon and said he was “full of dread” as the suspect tried to escape “at any cost”.

“I had a genuine belief that there was an imminent threat to life, I thought one or more of my colleagues was about to die,” Blake told the jurors.

But the prosecution said that the Audi, which had no weapons in it, could not have escaped or run over any officers, as it was blocked in so quickly and only reached a maximum speed of 12mph, which the crown accepted.

The prosecution also claimed that the use of force wasn’t necessary and that Blake’s reasons for shooting were "exaggerated".

In 2021, a report by Inquest, a charity providing "expertise on state related deaths and their investigation", found that no police officer had been found guilty of murder or manslaughter following a death in police contact or custody in England and Wales in 35 years.

Blake was first charged with murder on September 21, 2023, following a homicide investigation launched by The Independent Office For Police Conduct (IOPC) on September 9, 2022. His acquittal means he will be immediately reinstated as an officer.

Today (October 22), the judge ruled that details of Kaba’s past could be released, although none of these were used during the trial.

He is alleged to have carried out a shooting at East London nightclub Oval Space on August 30, 2022, which resulted in the venue’s licence being revoked, but was killed before being formally charged.

This shooting was captured on CCTV and Kaba was named as the gunman in a trial which took place in April this year. Three other men were convicted in connection with this shooting, receiving sentences of 10 years, nine years, and five years and six months respectively.

The jury weren't told any details about this or Kaba’s past convictions because Mr Justice Goss ruled they were not relevant to the trial. This is because Blake could not have known any of this information when he shot Kaba.

The Guardian reports: "Blake, at the point he pulled the trigger on 5 September 2022, did not know these details and did not know who was in the Audi Q8, which police believed was linked to a firearms incident the night before."

In 2022, data from the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), revealed that Black Londoners are three times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than white Londoners.

They are also seven times more likely to die following police restraint, a report by Inquest revealed in 2023.

A Channel 4 News report aired last night (September 21) said that: “In 2021, at a public inquiry into the shooting of [Jermaine] Baker, an officer from the specialist firearms command presented data showing that, at that time, of the 44 people shot by the Met since 2001, 48% were Black, and 43% of those suffered fatal injuries.

“When compared to the 2011 census figures on London’s Black population,” it continued. “It showed that Black citizens are as much as four times more likely to be shot by the Met as their white counterparts and as much as three times as likely to die.”

Jermaine Baker was a Black man shot and killed by a Met police officer in 2015. Other high-profile killings include Mark Duggan and Azelle Rodney. None of the police involved in any of these cases were convicted.

At the time of Kaba’s shooting, his family released a statement saying: "We are devastated; we need answers and we need accountability. We are worried that if Chris had not been black, he would have been arrested on Monday evening and not had his life cut short."

Meena Sears is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Instagram