The Metropolitan Police officer who fatally shot Chris Kaba has told a jury he did not intend to kill him when he fired his weapon. Officer Martyn Blake, 40, testified at the Old Bailey that he was aiming at Mr Kaba’s central body mass, intending to stop the car Mr Kaba was driving, not to end his life.
Chris Kaba, 24, was shot in the head on September 5, 2022, in Streatham, South West London. Despite receiving medical attention, Mr. Kaba died in hospital shortly after midnight on September 6.
The jury was informed that Mr Kaba, driving an Audi Q8, had been cornered by police vehicles in Kirkstall Gardens. In an effort to escape, he reportedly drove the vehicle forward and backwards before the shooting occurred. Officer Blake is facing a murder charge, which he denies.
During his second day of testimony, Mr Blake explained under cross-examination by prosecutor Tom Little KC that he had aimed his firearm as trained—at Mr Kaba’s central body mass over the steering wheel—but did not intend for the bullet to strike his head. Obviously I was aware that the bullet would hit his body at some point but I didn’t intend to kill,” Blake said, maintaining that his only goal was to stop the vehicle.
Blake further explained that he believed firing the shot was necessary to protect his colleagues. It was the only way I thought I had at the time to stop the vehicle,” he said, adding that he would not have fired again had the vehicle stopped.
Prosecutor Tom Little questioned the officer’s claim, pointing out that the “supersonic” bullet, which travels at 800 meters per second, had struck Mr Kaba in the head. Little suggested that Blake had been aiming for Mr. Kaba’s head, which Blake denied. Little also noted that firing at the central body mass of a person is “almost inevitably going to kill them,” to which Blake responded that while death was a possibility, he felt the threat to his colleagues was too great to ignore.
The trial continues, with members of Chris Kaba’s family, including his parents, Helen Lumuanganu and Prosper Kaba, present
