The family of Chris Kaba have demanded the Metropolitan Police officer involved in his shooting is “immediately suspended” pending the result of a homicide investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The 24-year-old father-to-be was fatally shot following a car chase in south London on Monday night, with the police watchdog now investigating the tragic incident.
IOPC has launched a homicide investigation into the incident in Streatham Hill, but the family said they were “shocked” the decision to do so was only made on Friday.
In a statement issued on their behalf, Daniel Machover, head of civil litigation at solicitors Hickman & Rose, said: “Following a police stop in Streatham, south west London, shortly after 10pm on Monday 5 September, a firearms officer employed by the MPS fired a fatal shot at Chris Kaba while he was seated, unarmed, in a car.
“On being notified of the death of Chris Kaba, the IOPC should have immediately opened a homicide and disciplinary investigation. The family was shocked to learn on Wednesday, 7 September, that the IOPC had still not done so and demanded a change of heart without delay.
“The family therefore welcome the IOPC’s decisions on Friday, 9 September, to open homicide and disciplinary investigations against that firearms officer, however belatedly.
“The family now await the outcome of that investigation, but seek a charging decision in this case in weeks or a few months, not years. Public confidence in the police and our justice system requires the IOPC and CPS to find a way to make decisions in this case on a timescale that delivers justice to all concerned. Avoidable delay is unacceptable.
“In the meantime, the family demand that the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis immediately suspend the firearms officer, pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Today approximately 400 people have gathered in Parliament Square to march on Scotland Yard demanding justice.
Lambeth MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who says she heard the sound of a helicopter on the night Chris died, is among those to have joined the demonstration to "support the family".
"There's a great sense of shock," she told the Mirror.
"The family wanted to have something themselves, something peaceful. They have to tell people what's going on or people will make their own conclusions and people will think something is amiss."
Temi Mwale, director of the 4front project, addressed the crowd in an emotional speech.
"Today I feel very angry and frustrated like most people here," she said.
"There's a collective grief and collective trauma, especially for the black community. It seems we can be killed by police in this country with impunity."
