The Metropolitan Police has been criticised after confirming that the officer who shot Chris Kaba in 2022 will now face a gross misconduct hearing – despite being cleared of murder.
Despite the not guilty verdict at trial last October, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has determined there is sufficient evidence for a disciplinary panel to consider the case.
The officer shot Kaba in the head in Streatham on September, 5, 2022 during a police vehicle stop, as Kaba attempted to drive at officers and “smash his way out of a roadblock”.
In a statement, the Met Police claimed they believed the officer “should not face any further action due to the extensive evidence tried and tested at court and the not guilty verdict returned by the jury” – but have now followed the direction of the IOPC.
Danny Shaw hit out at the decision to place the officer who shot Chris Kaba through a gross misconduct hearing
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Discussing the decision on GB News, Crime and Policing Commentator Danny Shaw criticised the “absurd” rules that are currently in place when it comes to misconduct regulations.
Shaw explained: “He was cleared of murder unanimously by a jury after three hours of deliberation last year, and yet he now faces a gross misconduct hearing over allegations that he used excessive force when he shot dead Chris Kaba.
“So the misconduct hearing into his use of excessive force will be held probably next year, which means another agonising wait for the officer, and to me, it just doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Highlighting that despite the verdict by the court the officer could “still be sacked”, Shaw told GB News: “This is a consequence of the rather absurd rules that are in place over misconduct.
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Protests took place following Chris Kaba’s death in 2022
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“Rules and regulations that basically say that even though you’ve been cleared in a criminal trial, that the actions have been scrutinised, have been gone through frame by frame, that grainy footage of what happened and that night has been analysed over and over again, the jury has given a clear ruling – there is still the possibility that he could be sacked. It doesn’t make any sense.”
When asked by host Ellie Costello if he believes that the decision could spark protest amongst other armed officers in the force, Shaw agreed.
He stated: “We’ve already had a sort of protest at the time when the officer was charged, some firearms officers declined to carry on with their duties. There isn’t a huge pool of firearms officers willing to take up that role.
“There are some shortages in some parts of the country, and it’s a very specialised role. There’s a lot of training involved, a lot of assessment – and so what I think you have is a situation where we expect the highest standards from our firearms officers, and we expect that if they do make a mistake or there’s a fatal shooting, there must be an investigation.”
Criticising the current misconduct system, Shaw concluded: “Officers who make mistakes or errors of judgment, there must be scrutiny of that – but we should also expect that the system of misconduct rules and regulations should be proportionate and fair as well.
Shaw told GB News that there could ‘potentially’ be fresh protests from fellow firearms officers
GB News
“And I don’t think personally, with the intense scrutiny of the decisions that this officer made in a split second, I don’t think it’s fair or proportionate for him to have to undergo a second level of scrutiny with a misconduct hearing. I just don’t see the benefit.”
He added: “I understand why the decision was made by the IOPC, but I don’t think those laws and regulations are fit for purpose.”
In a statement, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said: “We recognise the significant impact of Mr Kaba’s death on his family who continue to grieve the loss of a loved one.
“Since NX121 was acquitted, the IOPC has been reconsidering whether he should face misconduct proceedings. We made strong representations that he should not face any further action due to the extensive evidence tried and tested at court and the not guilty verdict returned by the jury.”
He added: “However, the IOPC has now determined that NX121 has a case to answer for his use of force and has directed us to hold a gross misconduct hearing.
“We know another lengthy process will fall heavily on the shoulders of NX121 and more widely our firearms officers, who continue to bravely and tirelessly police the streets of London every day to protect the public.”
