Officer accused of Chris Kaba murder ‘had genuine belief’ he and his colleagues would be killed

An armed police officer had ‘a genuine held belief’ that he and his colleagues would be killed if he didn’t shoot Chris Kaba in South London, a court has heard.

The 24-year-old Black man was shot through a windscreen by Martyn Blake, now 40, on September 5, 2022, as the car he was driving was being pursued through Streatham.

The Old Bailey heard that police vehicles had been planning a tactical stop of the Audi Q8, which had been linked to a shooting in Brixton the night before but as it turned from New Park Road onto Kirkstall Gardens, “plans had to change”.

Martyn Blake has denied murder, as the jury heard his initial report after the shooting had claimed he thought he and his colleagues were at risk.

“The driver drove his vehicle at great speed towards myself [and my colleague] to escape. I had a genuine belief that either of us could be killed and moved right, out of the way”, Blake said in his post-incident account.

“The driver then rammed our car, which was behind me, as well as a parked car and stopped, wedged.

“The male had already shown a propensity to use violence and was happy to use any means to escape and I had a genuine held belief that one or many of my colleagues could be killed by the car, and that the driver would not stop his attempt to escape at any cost.”

He added: “I then made the decision to incapacitate the driver due to the imminent threat to my colleagues and took one aimed shot at the driver. He immediately slumped and the car stopped.”

Prosecutor Tom Little KC argued that “in a number of material respects, that account is false and exaggerated in other parts”.

He claimed there was ‘no justification’ for Mr Kaba to be shot, as he said the efforts to escape a roadblock on Kirkstall Gardens were with speeds that were “not particularly fast”.

Dashcam and body worn footage from the police officers on the scene were played, in which Mr Little said: “DS87’s body worn camera reveals that Chris Kaba was in the driver’s seat with his right hand on the wheel and his left arm was half in the air.

“He is holding nothing - other than the steering wheel in his right hand.”

Chris Kaba was shot through the windscreen of the Audi by Martyn Blake - also known as NX121 - just seconds after the car had turned onto Kirkstall Gardens.

Mr Little told the jury: “[Mr Blake] had not activated his body worn camera.

He did so seconds after he had discharged his firearm but the prior 60 seconds of footage on the camera are automatically captured.”

Sound from the body worn videos of other officers on the scene were played, in which shouts of "shots fired" and "where from?" could be heard.

First aid was ordered moments after the shot was fired, CPR was given, and the London Ambulance Service was called.

Mr Kaba died in hospital hours later.

Martyn Blake has denied the charge of murder and his trial at the Old Bailey is set to continue for up to three weeks.