The police watchdog for England and Wales has said it will investigate whether race played a role in the shooting of Chris Kaba, an unarmed 24-year-old black man, by London’s Metropolitan Police.
Kaba was fatally shot by a single bullet on the evening of September 5 by specialist firearms officers in Streatham Hill, south London.
The shooting occurred after officers attempted to “stop and contain” the vehicle Kaba was driving, which was not registered to him. It had been flagged by an automatic number plate recognition camera as being linked to a firearms offence.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed on September 9 that a homicide investigation was under way and Met assistant commissioner Amanda Pearson this week said the officer who shot Kaba had been suspended from frontline duty.
Kaba’s death has reignited concerns of racism in UK policing and follows several scandals involving London’s police force, including the highly publicised murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer.
The IOPC said on Friday that as part of its investigation it would examine whether Kaba’s race had influenced officers’ decision-making and probe key details such as how the vehicle driven by Kaba came to be flagged on their system.
Kaba’s family have repeatedly voiced concern that race played a role in his death, saying last week they were “worried that if Chris had not been black, he would have been arrested . . . and not had his life cut short”.
MPs, activists and celebrities, such as musician Stormzy, marched through London last week, calling for justice and clarification from the police as to the circumstances of Kaba’s death.
Sal Naseem, IOPC regional director for London, said he fully appreciated that Kaba’s family had “unanswered questions” and the watchdog would aim to complete its investigation within six to nine months.
“We have been in further contact with Chris’s family this week to answer a number of questions . . . and to offer them privately and confidentially the opportunity to view video footage as soon as it is practicable,” he said.
“As this is a criminal investigation, we will continue to be limited in what details we can release,” he added. “Given this is a homicide investigation, we are liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service and we have already had discussions with the Senior Coroner and his officers.”
According to the findings of a postmortem examination carried out on September 9, Kaba, who was an expectant father, was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head. A coroner’s inquest is expected to begin on October 4.