Armed police officers have said that they would surrender their weapons and go on “strike” after learning that a comrade has been fired for the fatal shooting of father-to-be Chris Kaba, 24, in the line of duty.
They are reportedly “furious” that the cop who shot Mr. Kaba in south London was suspended by the IOPC.
After a traffic check on September 5 in Streatham Hill, south London, Mr. Kaba was murdered after the Audi he was driving was surrounded by two police cars in Kirkstall Gardens, a constrained residential street, and one police bullet was discharged.
Initially given limited responsibilities, the officer has subsequently been suspended as a result of the IOPC’s murder probe.
Mr Kaba, 24, who had been due to become a father, was killed while unarmed on September 5 following a police pursuit which ended in Streatham Hill, south London
Commenting after the suspension, Assistant Commissioner Amanda Pearson said: ‘Firearms officers do a difficult and often dangerous job every day to try to protect the public and serve London.
‘They know that on the rare occasions when they discharge their weapons, they will face intense scrutiny. We don’t underestimate the significant impact on the officer and colleagues.
‘The decision to suspend the officer does not determine the outcome of the IOPC investigation and we continue to co-operate fully with the IOPC.’
One source said of the officer’s suspension: ‘There is real anger in the ranks about this. Firearms officers do not get any extra money to carry out their role.
‘They are all volunteers and they are increasingly feeling what is the point of doing this if our bosses do not have our backs’.
‘There is no protocol requiring an officer to be suspended following a fatal shooting, it has not happened in other cases so the question is “why now”?’
The source added that the decision to suspend the person involved had been taken to ‘placate public anger’ and asked what message it sends to other armed officers who go out and risk their lives every day.
Protesters gathered last week demandng justice for Chris Kaba making their way to Scotland Yard
It is unclear how many of the 3,200 armed officers in the Met Police will step back.
However, sources have said the mood is ‘ugly and growing.’ Some supporters of the officer, according to The Sun, claim he is being used as a ‘political sacrifice’.
According to the Telegraph, the armed officers are set to tell their bosses that they will step back from the role after the Queen’s funeral is over and that they will not carry guns on patrol.
The IOPC said that officers had pursued the car as the car Mr Kaba was driving was flagged up on automatic number plate recognition and they believed that it was linked to a previous firearms incident.
The police body later said that no gun was found in the car and it was not registered to Mr Kaba.
Mr Kaba’s family, campaigners and MPs had previously called for the officer to be suspended.
The suspension came hours after a new police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, stepped in.
London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, said that the suspension is a ‘really important decision’ which he ‘fully’ supports.
It comes after Chris Kaba’s family said that they were not told he had been killed for 11 hours and demanded to see video of his final moments.
His cousin Jefferson Bosela, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said: ‘The family found out 11 hours [after he died], so his mum would have woken up and have gone to work not knowing that her son wasn’t alive any more.’
Mr Bosela said that the family would like to see bodycam and aerial footage of the incident, and would like to know how long the IOPC investigation will take to complete.
He said: ‘We want the footage to be shown to the family to have a clear understanding of what happened.’
Jefferson Bosela, Mr Kaba’s cousin, said the family would like to see bodycam and aerial footage of the incident, and would like to know how long the IOPC investigation will take to complete.
On the IOPC’s decision to yesterday suspend the officer, Mr Bosela said that the family welcomed it but thought they had been too slow to act.
Mr Bosela added: ‘I think the second an investigation was opened he should have been suspended from there.
‘You know, it’s the fact that the IOPC are moving a bit too slow. First we wanted a criminal investigation opened and that took three to four days, and then we wanted the officer suspended and that took another two days.
‘So it seems that there is no urgency in their dealings in this tragic matter.’
Mr Bosela added: ‘We want a timeline of how long the investigation will take because the IOPC are renowned for having very lengthy investigations. We want it to be swift, we want it to be effective and we want it to be thorough.
‘We won’t be waiting years for this. We want justice as soon as we can.’
It comes after hundreds of protesters gathered outside New Scotland Yard on Saturday following the shooting.
Campaigners and MPs including Harriet Harman and Bell Ribeiro-Addy had previously called for the officer’s suspension, describing it as ‘incomprehensible’ that the officer was not disciplined in the wake of the shooting.
Mr Bosela said that the family wanted to know if police knew if he was in the car or were simply following the vehicle.
‘They haven’t given us a definitive answer,’ said Mr Bosela.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: ‘I’ve put it out there he wasn’t perfect… but regardless of that nobody deserves to be killed by the police unless there is an imminent or direct threat to the public, which at that moment in time, from what I’m hearing, he was not.’
The family were informed of the suspension while they were holding a vigil for Mr Kaba at Kirkstall Gardens on Monday night.
Mr Bosela said: ‘We welcomed the news but it happened a little bit too late. The second there’s a criminal investigation, you need to suspend the officer. In any other job, you would be suspended immediately.
‘I don’t know why police officers still get the luxury of working even though they’re under a criminal investigation.’
The family were informed of the suspension while they were holding a vigil for Mr Kaba at Kirkstall Gardens on Monday night
Monday night’s vigil was the first time that Mr Kaba’s mother, Helen Nkama, had been at the scene of his death.
Mr Bosela said: ‘Chris’s parents are suffering an unimaginable loss. The nature in which he died makes it really harsh and so difficult. They’re so strong but they’re struggling.
‘At the vigil, his mother was saying, ‘Chris, what were you saying in your last minutes? I wish I had just one minute with you, speak to me please’. It was heartbreaking.
‘Personally, I haven’t been eating. I’ve lost so much weight. I’m grieving when I can but my focus right now is fighting for justice.’
He added that the police’s actions have reinforced a lack of trust in them: ‘The trust was never there anyway. (The relationship) is already damaged and broken. It’s reaffirmed how it felt: that the trust is gone.’
Mr Bosela has set up a GoFundMe and an Instagram account, @JusticeForChrisKaba, for the family’s campaign.
The GoFundMe has already raised £20,000 of its £50,000 goal.
Demonstrators march down Whitehall to Scotland Yard to protest the killing of Chris Kaba on Saturday
Met assistant commissioner Amanda Pearson said in a statement on Monday after the officer’s suspension: ‘Following the death of Chris Kaba, the firearms officer involved has been suspended from duty.
‘This decision has been reached following careful consideration of a number of factors, including the significant impact on public confidence, and in light of the Independent Office for Police Conduct announcing a homicide investigation.
‘Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Mr Kaba’s family and friends. We understand how concerned communities are, particularly black communities, and thank those who are working closely with our local officers.’