Marksman who shot Chris Kaba ‘thought one of his colleagues was about to die’

The police marksman who shot Chris Kaba has told a jury he thought one of his colleagues was about to die when he opened fire.

Giving evidence in public for the first time at the Old Bailey on Monday, Martyn Blake said he was “filled with dread” as the Audi Mr Kaba was driving moved backwards and forwards with police officers surrounding the car.

Mr Blake fatally shot Mr Kaba, 24, through the windscreen of the Audi in Streatham, south-east London on September 5 2022.

The court has already heard that when hemmed in by police cars, Mr Kaba, tried to ram his way past, between a marked police car and a Tesla parked nearby.

Mr Blake is accused of murder, which he denies.

He told the jury he could hear wheel-spinning and the car’s engine revving as armed officers tried to get Mr Kaba to get out of the car.

Mr Blake was asked by his barrister Patrick Gibbs KC why he had opened fire.

He said: “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.

“I thought I was the only person with effective firearms cover at the time.

“If I hadn’t acted I thought one of my colleagues would be dead. I felt I had a duty to protect them at the time.”