Yesterday (21st October 2024) saw the conclusion of the trial of a serving Metropolitan firearms officer, accused of murdering a man who he shot during a firearms operation. The officer was found not guilty by a jury after less than 3 hours deliberation.
In case you haven’t heard about this case, let me set out the basic details:
Chris Kaba was shot dead by officer “NX121” (his pseudonym) in London on 5 September 2022. The vehicle he was driving, an Audi Q8 SUV, was linked to a firearms incident the previous day. The offenders for that incident had not been arrested, and the firearm was still outstanding.
When the vehicle was spotted by police they followed it until it turned into a dead end road, whereupon they partially blocked it in with their vehicles, and approached the car on foot. Kaba then tried to break out of the roadblock by repeatedly ramming the police cars, causing officers to jump out of the way to avoid being run down. Fearing for his life, NX121 fired a single shot into the windscreen of the Q8, striking Kaba in the head, and causing his death.
Shortly after the verdict, the Metropolitan Police released the bodycam footage of the stop and the violence shown towards officers.
You can find it on the internet if you wish. It is shocking footage. Any right minded person, viewing that body-worn video, would see that the officers were facing a real and immediate threat of death or serious injury, that despite this they were restrained and disciplined and that the decision to use lethal force - made after a long, long 17 seconds of officers avoiding two tonnes of Audi being driven at them repeatedly - was an absolute last resort.
Armchair critics - and they are plentiful, on the internet of course, but also sadly in politics and even policing - when pressed airily suggest that officers should have let the car go, and used the police helicopter to pursue it. Quite how it would have kept the public safe to allow this dangerous man loose into the public domain, making off on city streets amongst unwitting and unarmed members of the public going about their business, is never stated. And even if the helicopter had followed the Audi until it stopped again, the police would still have had to confront Kaba, who was now on full alert and had clearly demonstrated he was never going to comply with police instructions.
Murder is the most serious crime. It requires premeditation - a conscious decision to kill someone. Did the CPS really think that NX121 came on duty that day intending to kill someone? He did not, of course. No firearms officer ever wants to use lethal force, to take a life. To suggest otherwise is an insult to all police officers, who every day put themselves in harms way to protect the public.
When people are hurt or killed on contact with the police, it is right and proper that the circumstances are investigated fully. But this felt like persecution, and is just an illustration of the seemingly relentless undermining of the police and their vital position in society, by media, some politicians and even those within policing.
I have no idea why the IOPC were so keen to drag this officer through the courts, and the CPS so content to charge murder in this case, especially given their legendary reluctance to refuse to charge many other sound and winnable cases for "lack of evidence”. A cynic might think the actions taken by the IOPC and CPS were politically motivated.
Thankfully, rightfully, NX121 is returned to full duties after two years of stress, pressure and worry. But his life will never be the same - a perverse decision was made to remove his anonymity, and his name has been dragged through the mud for doing his job. He may worry about long term repercussions for his family now his name is public property.
We should all be thankful that there are police officers willing to put themselves in between the public and the most dangerous and destructive people in society, every single day. And know that the constant undermining of police officers will only result in a further erosion of public trust, and a police force who are timid, constantly second guessing how others who are not brave enough to do the job will later judge them.