Officer who shot Chris Kaba says he ‘did not intend to kill’

The police officer who shot Chris Kaba has told the Old Bailey he did not intend to kill him when he opened fire. 

Martyn Blake, 40, told jurors that he intended only to stop the car the 24-year-old was driving in and aimed for the centre of his body.

Mr Kaba was shot in the head while driving an Audi Q8 in Streatham, southeast London on 5 September 2022 and died in hospital the next day.

The court previously heard that Mr Kaba was surrounded by police cars in Kirkstall Gardens and drove the Audi forwards and backwards in an attempt to escape.

Mr Blake, a marksman for the Metropolitan Police, is accused of murder, which he denies.

In his second day of giving evidence, Mr Blake said: “Obviously I was aware that the bullet would hit his body at some point but I didn’t intend to kill.

“It was the only way I thought I had at the time to stop the vehicle.”

The officer added: “If I had fired and the vehicle had stopped I would not have fired again.”

Read more:
Chris Kaba’s last words read in court
Marksman may have been ‘angry’ and ‘annoyed’

Prosecutor Tom Little KC said the “supersonic” bullet, which travels at 800m per second, hit Mr Kaba in the head.

Mr Little said, “I suggest to you that’s where you were aiming”, which Mr Blake denied.

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Mr Little said: “Discharge of a firearm towards the central body mass of an individual is almost inevitably going to kill them.”

The officer replied: “It does depend… It’s a possibility, I accepted that at the time, but I felt that the threat to my colleagues was such that I had to take that action at the time.”