The police marksman who killed Chris Kaba was “calm and collected” and had “sound” judgment, according to a senior colleague.
On Thursday, a Tactical Firearms Commander (TFC), referred to as HA62, gave evidence in the trial of Martyn Blake for the murder of 24-year-old Mr Kaba on September 5 2022.
He had been on duty that night and had declared a firearms incident and ordered the “enforced stop with extraction” after a suspect Audi that Mr Kaba had been driving was identified in south London.
HA62 confirmed that Blake was a trained Tactical Firearms Adviser who he had served with more than once before.
Patrick Gibbs KC, defending, asked: “What did you make of his temperament?”
The witness said: “Calm, collected.”
Asked about his judgement, HA62 replied: “Sound.”
Mr Gibbs said: “Did you ever see him angry or frustrated or annoyed or letting that get in the way of doing the job right?”
The witness replied: “No.”
Previously, the prosecution has asserted that Blake may have had an emotional reaction to Mr Kaba’s failed attempts to ram police vehicles and escape in the seconds before he was shot.
HA62 went on to tell jurors he was unaware that Blake had originally been rostered on to be the Tactical Firearms Adviser in the Special Operations Room that night but had swapped to an Armed Response Vehicle (ARV).
At 9.52pm, HA62 was made aware of the sighting of an Audi linked to multiple reports of the discharge of a gunshot outside a school in Brixton the night before.
Three minutes later, he declared a firearms incident and requested to pass tactics on to the “Trojan Unit” (ARV).
At 9.56pm, the message was relayed for an enforced stop with extraction of the Audi.
The message stated it was “involved in a shooting with a shotgun outside a school 24 hours ago”, was one of the “getaway vehicles”, and had not been stopped since.
The witness confirmed that he was aware that no victim had been identified or firearm recovered and the suspects were still at large.
Over the next 10 minutes, a number of ARVs joined the “Alpha” police car that had identified and begun to follow the Audi in Camberwell.
The Audi went on a circuitous route, leading HA62 to suspect the driver was aware of the police presence.
At 9.58pm, a helicopter was deployed and was sending a live video feed when Mr Kaba was shot at 10.07pm in Kirkstall Gardens in Streatham, jurors heard.
From that point, no officer involved in the incident was allowed to confer with each other unless there was an “operational necessity”, the witness said.
Cross-examining, Mr Gibbs asked why it would matter if Mr Kaba knew the police were behind him before officers performed the armed stop.
The officer said the knowledge would give a suspect the chance to prepare themselves for action.
Mr Gibbs said: “If there was maybe or believed to be the possibility of a weapon in the car why does it matter they have time to prepare?”
HA62 replied: “Because they can ready their weapon.”
Jurors have heard that no firearm was found in the Audi.
Mr Gibbs asked if the risk to officers surrounding the car became greater the longer the operation went on. HA62 agreed.
The Tactical Firearms Adviser on the night, an officer known as AC38, told jurors that the enforced stop with extraction tactic was one of the most serious that can be used by firearms teams, under questioning by prosecutor Tom Little KC.
The witness defended the decision-making that night, saying that “doing nothing was not an option”.
AC38 added that it would have been “hugely wrong” if the officers had not taken the opportunity to stop any potential future crime.
Blake, 40, has denied Mr Kaba’s murder and the Old Bailey trial was adjourned until Friday.
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