Suella Braverman has called a gross misconduct hearing into a firearms officer cleared of murdering gangster Chris Kaba the ‘definition of insanity’.
The former home secretary criticised the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after the watchdog last week said Sergeant Martyn Blake would face an inquiry over the death of Kaba in September 2022.
In October an Old Bailey jury found Sgt Blake, 41, not guilty of murder after he had shot Kaba in the head as he tried to force his way out of a police vehicle stop in Streatham, south London.
The gangster’s car had been involved in a shooting the previous day and he was linked to a similar incident the week before.
The jury had not been told of Kaba’s criminality and violent past. Two of Sgt Blake’s colleagues also gave evidence saying they were just ‘milliseconds’ away from firing at Kaba, 24, when he tried to use his powerful Audi Q8 to ram through the blockade.
Dozens of Metropolitan Police marksmen downed tools in protest when Sgt Blake was charged with murder, which led to the Army being put on standby.
Ms Braverman last night said the IOPC had thrown Sgt Blake ‘under a bus’ and warned the issue is causing officers to leave ‘in droves’. Her sentiments were echoed by two former chief constables.
Ms Braverman told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The IOPC announcement is the definition of insanity and will mean fewer firearms officers on the streets. Sgt Martyn Blake has been cleared in a court of law and is effectively being tried twice.
Suella Braverman criticised the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after the watchdog last week said Sergeant Martyn Blake would face an inquiry over the death of Kaba
Chris Kaba, 24, was shot in south London on September 5, 2022, when he tried to ram his way through a police roadblock
‘We should be supporting our brave police officers, not throwing them under a bus. It’s no wonder police officers are leaving the force in droves.’
She also urged Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to ‘stop this witch hunt’.
Sir Peter Fahy, a former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said: ‘I don’t think [the IOPC] really understands the profound degree of trauma this guy has gone through for doing his job.’
Mike Barton, the former chief constable of Durham Constabulary, added: ‘There is a real irony that the officer who is at the centre of all this had milliseconds to make a decision, but everybody else who is trying to second guess what should have been done are taking years to do this.’
A source at the IOPC said that the Met itself will conduct the inquiry into Mr Blake and determine its pace, adding: ‘The IOPC is not the judge and jury in this.’
Last week, IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: ‘We understand the impact this decision will have on Chris Kaba’s family and Sgt Blake and acknowledge the significant public interest in this case, particularly among our black communities, firearms officers and the wider policing community.
‘This is a decision we have taken based on examining all the evidence, views of all parties and by applying the thresholds set out in legislation and guidance which govern our work.
‘The legal test for deciding whether there is a case to answer is low – is there sufficient evidence upon which, on the balance of probabilities, a disciplinary panel could make a finding of misconduct. This has been met and therefore we need to follow the legal process.
‘We appreciate that the Home Office is carrying out a review of the legal test for the use of force in misconduct cases, however, we must apply the law as it currently stands.’
