Chris Kaba's family 'devastated' as watchdog pauses probe into officer who shot him

THE family of Chris Kaba today said they were “devastated” after misconduct proceedings against the officer who shot him dead were paused.

The 24-year-old was fatally shot by Metropolitan Police officer Martyn Blake after trying to ram his way past police cars in Streatham, south-east London, in September 2022.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will wait to issue gross misconduct papers against him as a legal change is expected to come into force over the tests used to bring criminal charges and misconduct proceedings against officers over use of force.

In a statement through the charity Inquest, Mr Kaba’s family said: “Martyn Blake fatally shot Chris when he was unarmed and without knowing who he was.

“Until today, Martyn Blake was quite correctly facing imminent disciplinary proceedings for that use of force.

“We cannot understand why we, as Chris’s family, only learned for the first time today that the Met invited the IOPC to drop proceedings against Martyn Blake back in November.”