The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has confirmed that the firearms officer who shot Chris Kaba will not face misconduct proceedings. This conclusion follows an earlier choice in January to suspend any hearings against Sgt Martyn Blake until legal standards regarding the use of force were updated. These regulations were successfully modified in June, shifting the assessment criteria from civil law standards to those applied in criminal law.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley noted that the ruling concludes nearly four years of strain for Blake, also known by his official cypher NX121. He acknowledged the ongoing hardship for the officer and his colleagues while also expressing sympathy for the grief experienced by Kaba’s family. Blake had previously been acquitted of murder charges during a 2024 trial regarding the 2022 incident in Streatham, where the 24-year-old Kaba was shot during an attempt to maneuver past police vehicles.