CAMPAIGNERS were left outraged today after the police marksman who shot and killed Chris Kaba was cleared of his murder.

Martyn Blake, 40, had been on trial at the Old Bailey in London since October 2 after shooting the 24-year-old black man through the front windscreen of his car in Streatham in 2022.

The jury deliberated for about three hours today to clear Mr Blake as the family of Mr Kaba listened to the verdict in silence.

One relative could be seen rocking backwards and the group walked away from the courtroom in the Old Bailey in silence, accompanied by their police family liaison officer.

Mr Kaba was shot after driving backwards and forwards in his car in an attempt to escape the police, but the car was motionless when the gun was fired.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Mr Blake had misjudged the risk, exaggerated the threat to his colleagues in statements following the shooting, and had aimed at Mr Kaba’s head, all of which he denied.

In his defence, jurors heard a series of testimonials from colleagues and senior officers, with one firearms officer saying he would have fired the shot if Mr Blake had not.

Police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct will now consider whether Mr Blake should face a disciplinary hearing.

The jury of nine men and three women had asked to make a statement to the court alongside their verdict, but permission was denied by Mr Justice Goss.

Following the verdict, a statement from Mr Kaba’s family said: “Today, we are devastated.

“The not guilty verdict leaves us with the deep pain of injustice adding to the unbearable sorrow we have felt since Chris was killed.

“No family should endure the unimaginable grief we have faced.

“Chris was stolen from us, and this decision shows his life — and [those of] many others like him — does not matter to the system. Our son deserved better. 

“The acquittal of Martyn Blake isn’t just a failure for our family, but for all those affected by police violence.
 
“Despite this verdict, we won’t be silenced. We are deeply grateful to everyone who stood by us and fought for justice.

“We will continue fighting for Chris, for justice, and for real change. Chris’s life mattered, and nothing can take that away from us.”

An emergency demonstration was called outside the Old Bailey by Black Lives Matter UK as the Morning Star went to print.

Deborah Coles, director of charity Inquest, said: “It is difficult to reconcile the verdict with the evidence heard at the trial and the shocking reality of an unarmed black man being shot in the head.

“It is clear from our work that when the police kill, they seek to operate above the law. 

“This verdict must not now be used by the police lobby to further dilute police accountability.

“We know that Chris’s death is not an isolated case but part of systemic racism and stereotyping that equates black men with dangerousness. 

“For decades, black men have disproportionately been killed by the police.

“However, the conviction of one police officer does not stop the violence, racism and misogyny entrenched in police culture and practice.

“Real justice and accountability is when the deaths and harms of policing stop.

“To achieve this, we must urgently redirect resources away from police and into communities.”

Campaign group Save Our Citizenship called the verdict “another prime example of the extent of how deep-rooted racism manifests within the British injustice system.”

And the Women’s Equality Party said it is “both terrifying and outrageous to hear politicians say the police should be scrutinised less after they kill unarmed members of the public.”

Since 1990 there have been 1,904 deaths recorded by campaign group Inquest in or following police custody or contact.

In that time only one officer has been found guilty of manslaughter, in 2021, and none for murder.

In the 34 years, a total of 83 people were fatally shot by police in England and Wales.

Only three murder or manslaughter prosecutions were made, none with a guilty verdict.