Met Police marksman may have been ‘angry’ and ‘annoyed’ when he shot Chris Kaba dead, trial hears
A police marksman may have been “angry, frustrated and annoyed” when he shot Chris Kaba dead after he tried to escape, a court has heard.
Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial at the Old Bailey, where he denies murdering the 24-year-old in Streatham, south London.
Mr Kaba was sitting in the driver’s seat of a dark Audi with both hands on the steering wheel when he was shot once in the head on the night of 5 September 2022, a jury was told.
The car’s registration had been linked to a firearms incident after reports a man had been seen with a shotgun the previous evening and gunshots were heard in Brixton, the court heard.
Prosecutor Tom Little KC said Mr Kaba had tried to drive away from officers, hitting a police vehicle in an attempt to escape, but did nothing in the seconds before he was shot to justify Blake’s decision to pull the trigger.
“What he was thinking at the time only he knows,” the barrister told jurors.
“But you may want to consider in this case whether the requests that were made to Chris Kaba by the police, that he did not obey, caused the defendant to become angry, frustrated and annoyed.”
Metropolitan Police marksman Blake, who was previously known as NX121, did not know Mr Kaba, whose mother became visibly upset and was comforted by a relative as the case against the officer was opened.
The court heard on the evening of 4 September police were called to reports of gunshots in Brixton and that a man had been seen with a shotgun, while three men wearing dark hoodies had changed their clothes and got into two vehicles before driving away.
A registration number given for one of the vehicles was the same as the Audi Mr Kaba was driving the following night and a firearms “marker”, flagging the vehicle should police spot it, had been placed on the car, the jury was told.
Mr Little said the decision for armed police to stop the vehicle was “eminently reasonable and sensible”.
Jurors were shown a compilation of footage from police vehicles and body-worn cameras, as well as a computer generated reconstruction of the events.
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In the footage, a police car can be seen blocking the path of Mr Kaba’s Audi as it turns into Kirkstall Gardens followed by an unmarked police car and two other marked vehicles.
The Audi moves back a short distance, making light contact with the car behind, then moves forward, colliding with the police vehicle and a parked Tesla in a “concerted attempt” to escape, including wheelspins, as an officer tries to smash the windows.
The Audi is surrounded by armed police officers as the unmarked police car moves forward to stop the Audi, which reverses and makes contact.
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But Mr Little said officers were able to safely step away, adding: “Although this was a difficult and potentially challenging situation, at least at first, it was not as difficult and life-threatening as the defendant claims.”
He said “there can be no doubt” the armed officer intended to “incapacitate and, we say, to kill” Mr Kaba, and at “the heart of the case” was the decision-making of one man.
The prosecutor asked the jury: “Was this a case of mistaken belief as to risk or, as we say, was this an unlawful decision to shoot and 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,” Mr Little said.
The immediate risk to Blake and his fellow officers didn’t justify firing a bullet into Mr Kaba’s head “at the point when the trigger was pulled”, the prosecutor added.
He said that in Mr Kaba’s driving forwards towards a police vehicle blocking his path there “was an element of initial danger”, but he only drove backwards a short distance before he was killed and no officers were knocked down or injured.
It was not obvious there was room for Mr Kaba to escape and if he had managed to get away, he could’ve been followed by police vehicles and the helicopter hovering in the sky, the jury was told.
“There was 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,” he added.
The trial, which is expected to last for up to three weeks, continues.
A 53-year-old man has been charged after a car was driven into a crowd at Liverpool FC’s trophy parade.
Paul Doyle, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, has been charged with seven offences, Merseyside Police said.
The businessman, who is a father-of-three, is accused of two counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and two counts of causing unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Paul Doyle
Doyle is also accused of two counts of attempted unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and one count of dangerous driving.
He is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates Court on Friday.
The charges relate to six people, including two children. A wounding charge and an attempted grievous bodily harm charge relate to a child.
A police car was outside Doyle’s four-bedroom detached family home in the West Derby area on Thursday morning.
According to his social media, he has travelled extensively including Japan, Fiji, India and Australia. Doyle has posted pictures of himself competing in triathlons, and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
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New Liverpool incident footage
Thousands of fans were gathered in Liverpool city centre on Monday to celebrate the Premier League champions’ title win when a car struck a crowd on Water Street.
Police said a total of 79 people were injured in the incident, with the youngest aged nine, and the oldest being a 78-year-old.
Seven people remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Forensic officers at the scene in Water Street. Pic: PA
‘Huge volume of evidence’
Chief crown prosecutor for the CPS Mersey-Cheshire, Sarah Hammond, told a news conference on Thursday that the investigation was at an early stage and a “huge volume of evidence” was being reviewed.
“This includes multiple pieces of video footage and numerous witness statements. It is important to ensure that every victim gets the justice they deserve.
“The charges will be kept under review as the investigation progresses.”
Police ‘working tirelessly’
Also at the briefing where the charges were announced was Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Jenny Sims, who said: “I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions.
“Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism, to seek the answer to all of those questions. When we are able to, we will provide further information.”
The youngest victim injured in the Liverpool parade crash on Monday is nine years old, police have said.
They added that the oldest is 78, with all 79 people injured understood to be British. Seven remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Merseyside Police declined to say what drug the 53-year-old man arrested over the incident is alleged to have taken.
“We wouldn’t go into this detail at this stage of the investigation,” the force said.
Police at the scene in Liverpool. Pic: AP
Forensic officers in Water Street. Pic: PA
Police are still questioning the driver and were granted further time to do so on Wednesday.
Officers have until Thursday evening to question the man from West Derby.
He is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.
Police believe the car which struck pedestrians was able to follow an ambulance crew attending to someone suffering a heart attack after a road block was temporarily lifted.
Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool fans had turned out to celebrate their team’s Premier League title when the incident unfolded on Water Street just after 6pm on Monday.
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‘My boy in his pram, got bounced’
‘The best day of my life turned into worst’
Sky News interviewed a lifelong Liverpool fan who said his five-month-old son was “bounced” 15ft (4.6m) in his pram after they were hit by the vehicle.
The child was not counted in the police’s injury tally.
Daniel Eveson, 36, also said his partner had been driven over.
“The best day of my life turned into [the] worst,” Mr Eveson said.
He added: “Me and my partner were flat on the roof, on the bonnet… we were just both trying to hold on for dear life with Ted next to us.
“And my partner went under the wheels of the car, of the front of the car, and it rolled over her leg, and I just bounced off to the side, but my boy and his pram got bounced totally in the opposite direction – about 15ft down the road.”
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Liverpool to meet with police chiefs and the local metro mayor.
He said he was being kept informed of developments, adding: “The scenes on Monday were just awful, to see how incredible joy at an amazing achievement turned to horror in a moment.”
Messages of support have been sent to the people of Liverpool, including from the King who said: “I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales said they were “deeply saddened” by the incident.
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