The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has given the green light for a murder charge to be filed against a Metropolitan Police firearms officer in connection with the fatal shooting of Chris Kaba in September 2022. The officer is scheduled to appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, September 21, to face these charges.

The decision to press murder charges was made by the CPS following a referral from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The shooting incident, which claimed the life of Mr. Kaba, occurred on September 5, 2022, in Streatham Hill.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Millichap commented on the development, stating, “We have fully supported the IOPC investigation as it has worked to establish the facts. Today’s announcement is a significant and serious development. We must now allow the court process to run its course so it would not be appropriate for me to say more at this stage. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this case.”

The charged officer remains suspended from duty, and matters related to misconduct will be addressed once the criminal proceedings conclude.

Mr. Kaba, 24, lost his life the day after being struck by a single gunshot fired by a police firearms officer. The incident unfolded when an unmarked police car, without lights or sirens, followed the vehicle Mr. Kaba was driving through south London. The pursuit eventually led to a collision between Mr. Kaba’s vehicle and a marked police car on Kirkstall Gardens, a narrow residential street.

The officer in the marked police car, identified as NX121 for legal reasons, discharged a single shot through the windscreen, striking Mr. Kaba in the head. Subsequent investigations revealed that the Audi Mr. Kaba was driving, which did not belong to him, had been linked by police to a firearms incident that occurred the day before.