South London’s Black community has reportedly been traumatised and feels that justice has been denied following the verdict that cleared a police officer of the murder of Chris Kaba. On Monday, about 150 people gathered for a vigil outside the Old Bailey in central London to react to the decision made by jurors in the case. Two Croydon community leaders have shared that they have concerns about the trial, with Anthony King saying that he is most impacted by the public decision that was made and that people need to process this ruling.
Police officer Martyn Blake shot and killed Mr. Kaba, who was unarmed, during a police vehicle stop in Streatham, south London, in September 2022. During the trial, jurors heard that Mr. Kaba’s car was boxed in by police cars, and he drove backwards and forwards in an attempt to ram his way free. Mr. Blake told the court he opened fire to stop the car because he believed one of his colleagues was about to die. The jury did not hear about Mr. Kaba’s criminal history, but a reporting restriction was lifted by Mr Justice Goss on Tuesday.
Since viewing the bodycam footage of the incident that was issued shortly after the verdict, many people have concerns, and they are really traumatised; said Mr. King, adding that the community had been making efforts to build relationships, and it feels like they have taken a step back. Beryl St. James, who works with Croydon Voluntary Action, interacted with the Metropolitan Police to reduce violence in the area; thinks that there are questions about the justice system and what threshold was used to decide to charge the officer with murder, which could have prevented such incidents.
After reporting restrictions were lifted, it was revealed that Mr. Kaba was named as the gunman in a nightclub shooting in Hackney, east London, about a week before he died. Police officers did not know who was driving the Audi Mr. Kaba was in on the night he died; however, they did know it had been used as a getaway car in another shooting in Brixton, south London, the day before. The community had mixed emotions when hearing about Mr. Kaba’s criminal history, with some arguing against it, while others said that it could have changed the community’s view on the situation if they had known
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