The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are under fire from MPs and the police after Sergeant Martyn Blake was cleared over the killing of a man shot dead in south London.
Chris Kaba, 24, was shot in the head while trying to escape from a police roadblock in September 2022 but a jury took only three hours to find the police officer not guilty of murder.
Prosecutors decided to charge the 40-year-old firearms officer following a lengthy investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Following Sergeant Blake’s acquittal, Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner said he worried charging the police in these situations was “crushing the good spirit of good officers” and was making London less safe.
One of the two hopeful Tory leaders, Robert Jenrick, also called out the charge describing Blake as a “hero” and said the decision to prosecute the officer was wrong.
He said: “Martyn Blake, the firearms officer cleared today, was a hero who found himself fearing for his life and the life of his colleagues.
“His prosecution was wrong and endangered the public. The ordeal he has gone through, unthinkable. We must back our brave police officers, and not drag them through the courts for making split-second decisions.”
Sergeant Blake could still be fired despite being cleared by the criminal court if the IOPC seeks a gross misconduct finding against him.
Dame Priti Patel, the former home secretary who resigned just hours before the shooting, said there were huge questions for the CPS over why it pursued the case.
She said: “This police officer has been through a traumatic ordeal, and the case has had a huge reputational impact on his career and on the force at large.
“There are important questions for the CPS to answer over the evidence base they had and their reasons for pursuing it. There needs to be transparency and accountability. We need public confidence in our institutions.”
However, other politicians defended the decision to charge Blake such as Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill.
Ribeiro-Addy said: “Whilst police officers undeniably have a difficult job and work under exceptional pressures, this trial shows nobody is above the law.
“The fatal shooting of Chris Kaba caused considerable fear, anger and pain not only in our community but in communities across London.
“Trust and confidence in policing has long been a problem in London, particularly within the black community. We need urgent efforts to rebuild trust between police and communities.”
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