Chilling moment cop Matt Ratana is ‘shot dead by handcuffed man, 25, who jumped up and fired pistol in police station’
THIS is the moment police sergeant Matt Ratana was shot dead by a handcuffed prisoner in a custody centre.
Louis De Zoysa, 25, pulled out an antique revolver from a concealed underarm holster and fired from point-blank range.
His hands had been secured behind his back, but he managed to fire four rounds.
Edited CCTV showing 54-year-old Met cop Matt’s shooting was released last night.
A full-length version was played to jurors at De Zoysa’s trial, attended yesterday by Matt’s partner Su Bushby.
It showed De Zoysa swivelling to his right, lifting the back of his jacket and pulling out the gun with his right hand in one swift movement before firing into Sgt Ratana’s chest.
Two other cops in the cell at the custody centre in Croydon, South London, are then seen diving on the gunman.
Northampton crown court heard how De Zoysa fired three more shots with the gun he bought legally on the internet, using bullets he made himself.
The second round hit Sgt Ratana in the leg, the third struck a wall and the fourth hit De Zoysa in the face causing brain damage.
Wheelchair-bound De Zoysa denies murder.
His lawyers claim he killed Sgt Ratana in an “autistic meltdown.”
He was stopped close to his parents’ home in Norbury, South London, at 1.30am in September 2020.
PCs Rich Davey and Samantha Still arrested him after finding cannabis and seven bullets — but not the revolver.
Prosecutor Duncan Penny told jurors: “The gun and holster were probably concealed under one of his armpits.”
CCTV from a police van showed De Zoysa shuffling his hands behind his back, shifting in his seat and shaking his head.
He was placed in a holding cell accompanied by PCs Davey and Still.
The defendant then said to them: “I will tell you, this is it. This is it. Please, please leave.”
New Zealand-born rugby fan Sgt Ratana is seen entering with his back to the camera.
“He introduced himself to De Zoysa before asking him to stand to be searched. The gunman is then seen jumping up and opening fire.
De Zoysa, of Banstead, Surrey, claims he did not fire the gun deliberately.
The trial continues.