Met gun cop cleared of murdering Chris Kaba forced into hiding after gangsters put £10k bounty on his head
GANGSTERS have put a £10,000 bounty on the gun cop who shot dead Chris Kaba.
Sgt Martyn Blake, 40, and his family are now in hiding.
He was cleared of murder but faces misconduct charges to the fury of pals who say he was only doing his job.
Kaba, 24, was today unmasked as a feared gangster linked to two shootings in the six days leading up to his death in September 2022.
Kaba was killed with a single bullet fired by Sgt Blake through his Audi Q8’s windscreen.
He had tried to ram his way free from a police stop in Streatham, South London.
A jury took three hours to acquit Sgt Blake of murder.
The married dad said he fired to protect colleagues from the car.
He was under armed protection throughout his three-week trial and later returned to his family at a secret address which is guarded.
It is understood Sgt Blake’s two children have moved school.
It was alleged during pre-trial legal submissions that those linked to the 67 gang, of which Kaba was a core member, were seeking to kill a police officer in retribution.
Sgt Blake’s counsel Patrick Gibbs KC cited an intelligence report about the bounty, saying: “The sum on offer was £10,000 . . . in exchange for personal details of Martyn Blake, including addresses and vehicle registration marks.
“The threat of harm was directed at both Mr Blake and his family.”
Supt Ross McKibbin, of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said: “In nearly 30 years of service, I have never been more concerned about the welfare of an officer.”
One ex-colleague added: “Martyn will be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life.”
Sgt Blake was named in March after losing a court battle to keep his anonymity.
It is because the officer was charged by the CPS that his name was put into the public domain in the first place.
Meanwhile, watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct is reviewing whether Sgt Blake should face gross misconduct charges — which could see him sacked.
THE SUN SAYS: Cop did job
THE only injustice in the Chris Kaba case is the two-year hounding of the cop who took his life.
His attempted prosecution for murder without credible evidence.
And the £10,000 bounty now placed on his head by malicious criminals.
The grief of Kaba’s family is powerful and understandable. But it must not conceal the truth. He was a violent, gun-toting gangster with a grim record. He was apparently involved in two shootings in the week before he died.
His supporters claim he was unarmed when he was killed. Except he was trying to ram a police roadblock in an Audi Q8, a two-ton lethal weapon, posing an imminent threat to life. Sergeant Martyn Blake opened fire to stop him.
After a two-year probe and three-week trial the jury unanimously cleared him in three hours. Not because Kaba “did not matter”. Because Blake was innocent.
What possessed the Independent Office for Police Conduct and CPS to pursue this obviously flimsy case?
And did they never consider its effect on armed police morale?
Every day these officers go to work knowing they may need to place themselves in extreme danger to protect the rest of us from terrorists or gangsters.
How many want to volunteer now, seeing what Sgt Blake is going through?
No, of course they are not above the law. But a balance must be struck, and common sense applied, when a killing is clearly justifiable.
The IOPC must end its own probe today.
Public safety relies on cops like Sgt Blake — and plenty more.
The Met Police Federation’s Matt Cane said officers “remain astonished that a brave colleague could be charged with murder, doing the job that society expects of him”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to announce fresh assurances for gun cops in a Commons statement as early as today.
PM Sir Keir Starmer hailed the “incredibly difficult job” of armed cops.
He said it was crucial they could use their powers with “legal certainty and clarity”.
Met deputy assistant commissioner Stuart Cundy said that “the open and transparent disclosure of Mr Kaba’s character at the trial’s conclusion will significantly reduce the risk of unrest on the streets and help keep the public safe”.
TIMELINE OF THE PROBE
THIS is how events unfolded two years ago.
August 30, 2022: CCTV footage allegedly captured the moment Kaba opened fire on a rival in a nightclub in Hackney.
September 4, 2022: Kaba’s Audi Q8 was linked to a shotgun attack on a car containing two people outside a Brixton school.
September 5, 2022: A Tactical Firearms Commander is made aware of the sighting of the Audi Q8, driven by Chris Kaba, after ANPR camera flags up its alleged involvement in the previous shooting.
The commander declares a firearms incident and passes tactics to an armed response team. Armed officers pursue the car, which is forced to a stop at 10.07pm in Streatham Hill, South London.
As Mr Kaba revs the engine, an officer standing in front of the car fires a single shot through the windscreen.
September 6: Mr Kaba dies in hospital at 0.19am. The Metropolitan Police refers itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
September 7: Statement by Mr Kaba’s family’s calls for a murder investigation.
September 12: Met confirm Officer NX121 has been suspended from frontline duties
September 20, 2023: Officer charged with murder by the Crown Prosecution Service. Hundreds of colleagues reportedly turn in their weapons permits.
March 8, 2024: Judge lifts anonymity order, naming Martyn Blake as the officer.
October 21, 2024: Blake is cleared of murder, with jurors at the Old Bailey taking just three hours to reach a unanimous verdict.