Family of Chris Kaba demand Met Police officer be ‘immediately suspended’

Police watchdog has launched a murder investigation into the shooting of unarmed 24-year-old

Chris Kaba was shot dead on 5 September during a police chase (PA)

The family of Chris Kaba have called for the Met Police officer involved in his shooting to be “immediately suspended”.

Kaba, 24, was shot in Streatham Hill on Monday following a pursuit that saw the Audi he was driving hemmed in by two police cars in a narrow residential street. He was unarmed, and died after a single shot was fired by a Met Police officer from the Specialist Firearms Command unit while police attempted to stop and contain the vehicle he was driving.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched a homicide investigation into the incident, but the family of the dead man said they were “shocked” that the decision to do so was only made on Friday.

Scotland Yard said it was cooperating with the murder investigation, and that the officer concerned had been removed from operational duties.

In a statement issued on behalf of Kaba’s family, Daniel Machover, head of civil litigation at solicitors Hickman & Rose, said: “On being notified of the death of Chris Kaba, the IOPC should have immediately opened a homicide and disciplinary investigation. The family was shocked to learn on Wednesday, 7 September, that the IOPC had still not done so, and demanded a change of heart without delay.

“The family, therefore, welcome the IOPC’s decisions on Friday, 9 September, to open homicide and disciplinary investigations against that firearms officer, however belatedly.

Floral tributes at the scene where Chris Kaba was shot by an armed officer (PA Wire)

“The family now await the outcome of that investigation, but seek a charging decision in this case in weeks or a few months, not years. Public confidence in the police and our justice system requires the IOPC and CPS to find a way to make decisions in this case on a timescale that delivers justice to all concerned. Avoidable delay is unacceptable.

“In the meantime, the family demand that the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis immediately suspend the firearms officer, pending the outcome of the investigation.”

On Saturday morning, Amanda Pearson, assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said: “The officer is not currently on operational duties due to the formal post-incident process. A senior officer will now carefully consider their work status going forward.”

Earlier this week, Kim Alleyne, 49, whose daughter Karimah Waite was engaged to Kaba, said: “He was so loved. He was so funny. He was super kind. Crazy. He was always happy. He’d do anything for you.

“He was a fiance, he was due to get married in five months’ time. He’s got a baby on the way that he’s never going to see.”