Car’s screeching tyres sounded ‘alarm bells’ before Kaba shooting, court told

“Loud screeching” sounded a warning for a firearms officer who leapt away moments before the driver of a suspect car was fatally shot by a colleague, a court has heard.

Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murdering 24-year-old Chris Kaba who was shot through the front windscreen of an Audi during an armed police stop.

Jurors have heard how Mr Kaba had been driving forwards and back in an attempt to ram his way out after being blocked in by armed response vehicles in Streatham, south London.

On Tuesday, an officer known by the cypher MY40 described his role in the enhanced police stop and extraction on the evening of September 5 2022.

MY40 said he had been second in a convoy of three armed response vehicles that had followed an Audi after it was identified as being linked to a firearms incident the night before.

A marked police vehicle, which Blake was in, had been parked in Kirkstall Gardens and initiated the “in line” stop by pulling out nose-to-nose with the Audi just after 10pm, the court was told.

When that happened, MY40 told jurors he got out of the “Bravo” vehicle in the convoy behind the suspect vehicle and used a glass hammer to smash a rear passenger side window of the Audi.

He explained to jurors that because it was dark and the Audi had tinted windows he wanted to check there were no passengers and also distract the driver, giving colleagues time to get him out safely.

He said that smashing a window would also give him the “less lethal option” of using a taser.

He told jurors he was “completely shocked” when the Audi started moving forward after it had been blocked in by the marked police car in front and the convoy behind.

“We are trained for things but I was not expecting that to happen at all. It was a surprise, yes,” he said.

Jurors were shown dashcam video from one of the police vehicles showing the witness repeatedly striking the window with fast, heavy blows.

The glass hammer broke in the process, MY40 added: “I’m not quite sure how.”

Having successfully smashed a rear triangle window, MY40 said he went forward again to try to get the door open and stop the vehicle.

He jumped back and out of the way when he heard “loud screeching” he associated with danger.

MY40 said: “The one thing that really does stick in my mind was the loud screeching. The car is revving so much.

“I remember it very distinctly being very loud and that is when alarm bells kicked in.

“With the wheels screeching I had to get out of the way, I believe my right leg was quite close to the vehicle.”

Referring to police body-worn video of the incident, defence barrister Patrick Gibbs KC said: “We hear the wheel spin as the car goes forward, did you hear on that body-worn a screech from the tyres as the Audi reversed as well?”

The witness said he remembered the Audi had been “pinned” by one of the cars, saying: “Within my head is a danger alert and it has stuck in my head since. It’s stuck with me, I’m not sure why, whether it represents the danger.”

The witness said he was standing by the passenger side-wing mirror of the Audi when he heard a gunshot but did not know where it had come from at first.

He told jurors: “No matter how much you train it can take you by surprise, the gunshot can take you by surprise.”

“I just heard a loud sound. I heard loud shouts of ‘shots fired’.”

MY40 went round to the front of the vehicle to see what had happened and realised that the driver – Mr Kaba – had sustained a gunshot injury to the head, the court heard.

In the wake of the shooting, he helped give emergency first aid to Mr Kaba and manage the growing number of members of the public and vehicles in the road.

Blake has denied murder and the trial continues.