Residents of Kirkstall Gardens, a street in Streatham Hill, South London, were startled by the sound of screeching tyres just before 10 o’clock on September 5.
A young woman who was tucking her kid, age 8, into bed was among many who glanced out the window to investigate.
She saw a vehicle outside that was surrounded by police officers and turned out to be an Audi Q8.
She heard them yell to the driver, “Get out of the vehicle, get out of the car.” Later, there was a deafening blast. She said, “There was just one shot.” It was frightening,
The 24-year-old driver who was still seated behind the wheel was struck by the police marksmen’s bullet after it penetrated the windshield. He subsequently passed away at a hospital.
Chris Kaba was his name. He was going to become a parent and had a fiancée. He was also unarmed and black.
Given the significant national events of the previous week, many of you may not be aware of this tale.
The outrage over Chris Kaba’s passing among the black community, however, cannot be overstated, especially at a time when confidence and trust in the Metropolitan Police are at an all-time low.
Following the shooting, hundreds of people joined a calm demonstration in the heart of London that was organised by his parents.
They posed the question—or, more accurately, the allegation—that lies at the heart of this terrible episode: “Would he have died under comparable circumstances if he had been white?”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the police oversight agency, has suspended the weapons officer who fired the shot, and is looking into whether or not he committed a murder or manslaughter.
But this week, the Metropolitan Police experienced a reaction as a result of his termination from all responsibilities.
As a result of the decision, colleagues are threatening to surrender their guns and are getting ready to reduce their use of force when the Queen’s burial is finished.
The staff association for each constable, sergeant, inspector, and chief inspector said on Twitter that the decision to suspend him was made to “placate public outrage, straight and simple,” and that it had also led to “ill-informed opinion from individuals in positions of authority.”
He has so been used as a scapegoat.
The director of the charity Inquest, which supports bereaved families, stated: “There is rightly anger and frustration at yet another black man whose life has been cut short after the use of lethal force by police.” MP Harriet Harman signed a letter calling it “incomprehensible” that the officer had not been disciplined.
The murder of Chris Kaba could not have happened at a worse time for the new Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who has been saddled with a legacy of scandals that led to the ouster of his predecessor, Dame Cressida Dick, including the revelation of a canteen culture in some stations where misogynistic, sexist, and racist behaviour was widespread.
A poster with the words “Jail the murderer police” that was placed at the shooting scene—near the intersection of Kirkstall Gardens and New Park Road—best depicts the difficulty he must overcome.
The article continued by stating that the incident was “simple murder by an officer who felt certain he would get away with the death of a black guy since police officers have practically always got away with it.
On the unfortunate night in question, a police officer opening fire on a young black guy sitting in his vehicle would have seemed to be a scene from downtown Los Angeles or Detroit when watched from the porch or a window overlooking the location where Chris Kaba died.
However, material that gave a greater background for the deadly shooting was drowned out in the cacophony of anti-police remarks, maybe unavoidably so.
First, the Audi Chris Kaba was driving was highlighted by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras because the vehicle had been connected to an earlier guns incident a few days before. This led to the high-speed chase that happened before the massacre. It turns out that the car wasn’t really registered in his name.
The Audi was it stolen? Did he get it from the owner that the police were searching for?
The legal team that represents the Kaba family was unable to respond to our questions.
Second, the Audi was halted using “tactical contact,” which is another way of saying that it was slammed or shoved, and this is how the pursuit came to an end.
At least two police vehicles were able to box in the Audi once it had stopped.
According to a witness who spoke to the London Evening Standard, this is what followed. According to the witness, “armed cops stepped out and were yelling at the guy, “Get out of the vehicle.”
At least a dozen times, I believe. The driver of the automobile had many opportunity to stop, but he chose not to. He then began driving toward a police car, crashed into it, and then turned around without stopping.
Third, little to no consideration has been given to the unfathomable stress that firearms officers experience in such circumstances.
They must honestly and sincerely believe that their own life or the lives of others are in danger in order to open fire.
Decisions are often made in a single second and are frequently fatal. Even a seemingly harmless action, like a hand twitch, might be misunderstood in the heat of the moment.
There must have been a reasonable assumption that the driver in this instance was armed since the automobile being chased was connected to a prior shooting.
He wasn’t, of course, but as we’ll see in a moment, the cops were aware of him.
The fact that a suspect turns out to be unarmed may be exploited to present a damaging image of police violence when taken out of context.
For those who knew and loved Chris Kaba, the death of a young life under such horrific circumstances is tragic. However, a recurring issue in some of the reporting and earlier incidents is the idea that police in Britain and the United States are equivalent.
After a deadly police shot, no police officer has ever been found guilty of murder or manslaughter in England or Wales.
Although there are 3,200 policemen in the Met who participate in endless missions, a gun is seldom used.
After Chris Kaba’s passing, the Metropolitan Police Federation issued a statement reminding everyone that being a firearms officer in London is among the world’s hardest occupations.
Officers, who are volunteers, are deserving of our support since they are aware of the obligations and responsibilities involved.
Jermaine Baker, 28, was shot and killed in Tottenham, North London, in 2015. He was seated in an Audi as well. He was also unarmed and black.
A murder inquiry also focused on the cop who killed him.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Jermaine Baker was a member of a criminal gang that was attempting to ambush a prison van in order to free a suspect from detention, and it was determined that the officer who opened fire had behaved legally.
Similar comparisons have been made between the killing of Mark Duggan in 2011 and the largest riots in modern British history by those who have assaulted the police following the death of Chris Kaba.
What is not revealed, however, is that Duggan was a gangster and that the police officer who shot him after a vehicle pursuit was totally cleared of any wrongdoing after a thorough three and a half year inquiry by the police watchdog.
On the other side, Chris Kaba, the oldest of three brothers, was from a religious family that originated in the Congo and had just started his apprenticeship to become an architect.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, a standout for Manchester United, attended the same Croydon school as him. They were close buddies. After Chris was slain, the football player, who is also of Congolese origin, updated his Instagram profile image to read #JUSTICEFORCHRIS. His family has described him as a nice young man who was looking forward to becoming a parent. He wasn’t engaged in any wrongdoing, according to his father, financial advisor Prosper Kaba.
However, his son had already been freed from detention more than a year before after being given a four-year term in a juvenile offenders’ facility in January 2019 for possessing a pistol with the aim to incite fear of violence.
Following an incident on December 30, 2017, in Canning Town where there were claims of gunshots fired but no one was hurt, there was a conviction.
Chis Kaba also belonged to the “drill” rap group 67, which received a nomination for best newcomer at the 2016 Music of Black Origin awards (MOBOs).
The kind of music known as “drill” has been accused of igniting brutal territorial battles between competing gangs.
Members of 67, a group that was founded in Brixton Hill, South London, in 2012, had convictions for crimes involving knives and weapons. Ten members of the organisation were imprisoned in 2018 and 2019 for a drug-dealing operation over county boundaries.
Police have referred to 67 as a “criminal gang” and have cancelled many sold-out performances out of concern about violence.
A second wave of recruits included Chris Kaba, also known as Mad Itch, who rapped on songs and appeared in music videos from 2016 that were filmed in South London estates.
Nothing indicates that he took part in 67’s illicit actions.
Family members emphasised that he was no longer a member of the 67 generation and that he was committed to his fiancée and eager to have a family.
The police watchdog has stated that it was evidence, not public pressure, that led to the murder investigation being opened into Chris Kaba’s death.
It is anticipated that his family will be able to see the police footage of the encounter that caused the homicide. Officers were equipped with body cameras, and a camera-equipped helicopter was trailing the vehicle Chris Kaba was riding in.
He died at Kirkstall Gardens, and there was support for the police there.
One lady remarked, “In my view, when the police instruct you to stop, you have to heed them.” “Why didn’t he stop?”
Over time, stop-and-search privileges have weakened the black community’s faith in the police.
According to the Metropolitan Police website, there were 74,079 searches of black suspects and 79,933 searches of white suspects during the course of the previous year (September 2021 to August 2022).
Given that there are four times as many white individuals living in London (1,272,276 vs. 4,881,636), black persons are four times more likely to be stopped.
However, Chris Kaba may still be alive today if he had stopped when the blue lights behind him began to flash.
In the wake of the shooting, this has all but been forgotten.