A close colleague of police sergeant Martyn Blake has told Sky News that public safety has been put at risk because the Metropolitan Police marksman was prosecuted for the murder of gang member Chris Kaba.
The firearms officer, known as Nick (not his real name), was part of the team that stopped a car being driven by Kaba in south London in September 2022.
Nick said the shooting and later the subsequent murder charge of his friend had a huge impact on him and his colleagues.
The officer, who has now retired from policing because of the incident, spoke to Sky News after Kaba’s serious criminal history was revealed when a judge lifted restrictions at the Old Bailey.
“I don’t think the CPS should have charged Martyn Blake for operating in accordance with his training,” he said.
Read more: Why did Chris Kaba’s killer stand trial?
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“Martyn was acting entirely in good faith in order to protect his colleagues, and in doing so, more broadly, to protect members of the public. So, I think for many firearms officers, it’s a confusing situation they find themselves in.
“Ultimately, it’s the public who will suffer from this. The public are less safe when we create a culture where our police officers are neither valued nor treated fairly, and I think for all of us within the policing community particularly, but for those members of the public who have an interest in this too, I think we should all be very concerned.”
Mr Blake’s murder charge was described as a scandal within policing. After his first court appearance last year, Sky News revealed how thousands of officers threatened to down their guns if the police sergeant’s identity was revealed.
‘I’m not sure the public understand’
More than 100 officers enacted that threat when Mr Blake – previously known as NX121 – was named by a judge.
Nick continued: “I’m not sure the public understand how this has affected Martyn and other firearms officers, but I certainly don’t say that in an accusatory way. Why would they when they have never done the job and the huge responsibility that comes with it.
“What the public does not need is their police officers – and they are indeed theirs – to be hesitant at the point of contact, hesitant in that moment where lives are very much on the line in a split second, where a decision needs to be made, and officers who are more fearful of a skewed, imbalanced process that will happen.
“Should they take the ultimate course of action and end up shooting someone? If they’re more worried about that than the violent, dangerous individuals they’re dealing with at the point of contact, then I think something is very seriously wrong.”
Read more:
Chris Kaba verdict: Met reaction
Sky News speaks to ex-police marksman who was cleared of murder
Sky News understands that gang members in south London put a £10,000 bounty on Mr Blake’s head.
Nick said he predicted this may happen, which is why the identity of prosecuted firearms officers should remain anonymous.
“To me, it’s entirely absurd that with the absence of any kind of evidence of wrongdoing that they should have to give up their name into the public sphere,” he said.
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“Police officers deal with violent individuals who are very ruthless about getting away with the crimes they’re committing.
“The state asks a lot of these police officers, and it seems to me an unacceptable situation where they’re readily putting their names out in the public sphere.
“I do recognise the concept of open justice, which is so important to us, but I think that needs to be mixed with some sort of common sense when it comes to our police officers operating with and dealing with finding individuals.”
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Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said after Monday’s verdict that the decision to prosecute Mr Blake was made after an “in-depth consideration of all the available evidence”.
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“We recognise that firearms officers operate under enormous pressure, but it is our responsibility to put cases before a jury that meet our test for prosecution, and we are satisfied that test was met in this case,” Mr Ferguson said.
“It is therefore right that the case was put before the jury for them to scrutinise and to decide. They have carefully considered each piece of evidence, including video and Martyn Blake’s own account. They have made up their minds in the proper way and we thank them for doing so.”
