Policeman feared Chris Kaba would kill, court told

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g5ppgpzkdo

Posted by pppppppppppppppppd

17 Comments

  1. AerodynamicHandshake on

    Well obviously, he’s not going to throw out his defence at this stage is he?

  2. TarrouTheSaint on

    I’m extremely anti-Cop but, if his account is true, can’t blame the guy. If someone was hurtling in a car towards me and I was armed, I’d put a cap in them too.

  3. They *really* tried to frame this as the UK George Floyd and it just isn’t that

    The guy was a known violent asshole actively trying to ram people with his car. Play stupid games with armed police and you can’t be shocked when the outcome is being shot

  4. Round-Spite-8119 on

    Can’t see any way he doesn’t win this on genuinely held belief. It’s a hell of a hill for the prosecution to climb – they don’t just need to prove Kaba wasn’t a threat, they either need to prove the officer didn’t think he was, or that even within his belief the actions were disproportionate.

    The latter seems next to impossible given he was in a car – something which has been used to kill people, and Police officers before.

    So they’re pretty much stuck on proving the case that the officer didn’t really believe he was in danger. Time will tell, but I can’t see it working myself

  5. If Chris Kaba was willing not to stop for police, was willing to smash up cars in his quest to escape, do you think he’d stop for a police officer on foot or even a member of the public who could be crossing the road? The answer is no, he would rather kill/injure them to escape the police. This is clear to see as he rammed cars trying to escape.

    Does he deserve to get shot? That is a decision I cannot make and I am not trained to make.

  6. [Another court case from earlier this year, with some quotes from the BBC article.](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68441013)

    > Two men have been convicted over a gang shooting in an east London nightclub, allegedly carried out by another man who died before he could stand trial.

    > The alleged gunman cannot be identified for legal reasons.

    > The victim, Brandon Malutshi, now 25, suffered gunshot wounds to both legs, but survived the August 2022 attack.

    > The 24-year-old alleged gunman was said to be “moving mad” before he produced the weapon and shot at Mr Malutshi, causing panic in the club.

    > Jurors heard the alleged gunman was affiliated with the “67 gang” along with convicted drug-dealer Bell.

  7. Wonderful_Dingo3391 on

    It is ridiculous that the CPS are trying to prosecute a policeman doing his job. As soon as this criminal started smashing into the cars that had him hemmed in then that showed he was an immediate danger to life and unfortunately his life was forfeit.

  8. Conscious-Bed4876 on

    I saw in the papers the defense are claiming as his car was stationary that he was not a risk of commuting harm but the car was flagged for possible association with gun so the armed response likely had cause to believe he was armed.

    If found guilty this will ruin our armed police

  9. Thetwitchingvoid on

    The problem is, if they didn’t alert him to them being cops and they’re all undercover – then that could be seen as an issue.

    He has an undercover vehicle chasing him, guys in plain clothes are trying to get him out of a car, he’s a gangster and so could assume it’s a rival gang, adrenaline is pumping, things are happening quick.

    It’s a sticky issue.

  10. springheeledjack69 on

    Except George Floyd just passed an allegedly fake $20 bill which was later found out to be real.

    Chris on the other hand was being violent.

  11. CaseyEffingRyback on

    As with almost all of these cases, he would be fine if he did not resist arrest.

    I am not tyaing shooting is then justified. I’m not in a position to make that claim.

    I am simply saying, once one decides to resist arrest then you’re inviting the force continuum ti escalate, which can lead to harm to everyone involved and innocent bystanders.

  12. > “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.

    Gee, it’s almost like he’s been coached on the exact wording to use.

  13. Active_Bat298 on

    He was right. The violent scumbag had already proven his intent to kill and he was using his car as a lethal weapon. The cop gave a warning, and fired a well-aimed shot to preserve life. He should be given a medal.

  14. Sweaty-Suspect-6658 on

    He tried to ram his way out of a police roadblock, putting people’s lives at risk and was then rightly shot.

    I fail to understand why the copper is on trial for this. It seems like a monumental waste of time and money.

  15. Confident_Resolution on

    >
    When the shot was fired, Mr Kaba had his hands on the steering wheel and there was no suggestion he was reaching for a weapon, the court heard.

    Body-worn camera footage played to the court, from an officer identified only as DS87, showed the moment the police surrounded the Audi. The torch from DS87’s gun showed Mr Kaba with his right hand on the steering wheel and his left arm half in the air.

    >The vehicle was stationary when Blake fired his weapon, with the bullet perforating the windscreen and striking Mr Kaba’s forehead.

    [source](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/chris-kaba-shooting-met-police-nx121-court-trial-b2623234.html)

    Stationary vehicle & not reaching for a weapon…

    Given this context, a trial is the right thing. I’m not convinced the police officer was actually in danger at the time he fired.