Chris Kaba - why was there a prosecution?

[whenemmafallsinlove]

I have only seen the recent coverage but it seems undisputed that this man was in a car involved in a violent crime, he had a history of involvement in violent crime and in being stopped he used the car as a weapon to try and get away which endangered everybody around him including the police.
So was the potential crime the amount of force used? Because otherwise it seems hard to understand and I can completely appreciate why so many officers laid down arms as a result.
Please explain!

People are weird

@PlanetCats personally I have no sympathy for him.

But I also don't have sympathy for the police officer who was subject to the prosecution because that's the law. He's not above it. If he had no doubt in his actions I don't think there would have been as much outrage as there was.

@Calmestofallthechickens and the public

The expectant father, wannabe architect is just a smokescreen to create a picture of someone that CK really wasn’t. Domestic violence, gangs, guns, county lines was his world. For those worrying that it’s a slippery slope to legalised police brutality I really don’t think it is. If my car was pulled over my first thought wouldn’t be to ram my way out. Then again I didn’t shoot anyone the previous week.

I agree avon but lying is never a good tactic. People don't like to feel duped. They should have been honest about this man.

I'm more concerned about young people not wanting to go into the police to hold that thin blue line agaisnt these life destroying thugs.

Cases like this will put officers off joining the firearms teams, or indeed any unit that means physical violence is a likely outcome. How do you think we'll fare without the heavies next time there's a riot? Or next time there's a terrorist incident and a firearm response is warranted?

We are not America. The public and police do not routinely carry guns. If you charge every officer that fires his weapon with a criminal outcome you will quickly find you have no officers. I agree with the pp that the police should have a court martial system like the military as their jobs out them at risk of losing their lives and injuring others and they should be able to enforce the law without fear of unwarranted reprisal.

W*e are not America
*
Quite. That's why this case got so much attention. Because we are not a country where the police routinely use force against black citizens and we will hopefully never become America, because the CPS upholds the law and legal system.

The police officer had a couple of seconds to decide what to do and the car was being used as a weapon.

Kaba was a violent idiot, now confirmed since all his previous history has come out. If he hadn't rammed the police he would probably be in prison, but that was his reckless choice.

The people who were outraged chose to be outraged based on a tiny snippet of information (‘black man killed by police’) and will continue to be outraged despite overwhelming evidence that it was the right thing to do in the situation.

I highly doubt the officer had any doubt about his actions, which were simply him following his extensive training to prevent loss of life. But that has no bearing on the ‘outrage’ felt by certain members of the public.

I'm personally very mistrustful of the police and think he shouldn't have shot him in the head but even I can't understand this. It was dark, he clearly was reacting a split second out of fear for his colleagues lives. I think the jury shouldn't have been told about CKs violent past or it would have massively prejudiced the trial but I'm glad restrictions have now been lifted. The police officer knew he was dealing with an extremely violent criminal who was already suspected to have been involved in killing someone. That is going to affect what your reaction might be when having a powerful car potentially rammed into you. Probably wouldn't be the same if Doris from no.12 had been pulled over for speeding or driving with a lapsed licence.

It’s a joke. The CPS must now explain why they ever took the decision to release the officer’s name. It was completely foreseeable that he would suffer threats of violence given the gang background that the CPS was well aware of.

Come on then CPS, explain to us how releasing his name is not gross negligence…. You bent over backwards to protect the reputation of the criminal, but could not give two shits about the safety of the police officer and his family. Explain yourselves. This is totally unacceptable.

Has our Home Secretary or our Prime Minister anything to say about this vile case?

Why would they?

The CPS works independently to the government. The police officer was found not guilty. That should be the end of it now.

His name shouldn't have been released but that does happen with a lot of these cases.

I am so angry this absolute waste of space and oxygen (Chris Kaba) was portrayed as a happy chappy just being mercilessly ‘murdered’ as he was peacefully going on about his evening. Leaving out the fact that he shot a man in both knees a few days before and had an endless history of violent crime. I am so happy he is no longer prowling streets of London.

So am I @Frauhubert, absolutely furious. The CPS seem to have the protection of the criminal and persecution of the police as their prime objective in this case. The conduct of the CPS should be investigated and the outcomes made fully public.

CK's family should be utterly ashamed of this person and the hideous backlog of extremely violent crime he committed. Hardly surprising it ended how it did and the police officer should never ever have been charged.

Yes he sounds like a real gem, I'm sure we'll greatly miss his contribution to Britain.

Good riddance, I'm delighted he is no longer able to continue his life of violence and crime.

They had no choice but to stop him shoot him in the chest arm or anywhere he could of still carried on and killed one of the police or public
what about the question why didn’t he stop rather than why was he shot

Why don't you join the police and see if you could do a better job of protecting the public? Easy to criticise when you are sat safe at home.

Good riddance.

Lambeth got a tinsy bit safer that night.

It's frightening how many officers are leaving the police force but its not surprising when you consider cases like these.

Well, I for one am asking that they address the following words spoken by Sir Mark Rowley:

"No police officer is above the law, but we have been clear that the system holding police to account is broken.

I worry about the lack of support officers face for doing their best, but most of all, I worry for the public.

The more we crush the spirit of good officers, the less they can fight crime that risks London becoming less safe.”

The CPS works independently, but it is not the government nor can work in a vacuum.

Every firearms incident where there's a fatality is potentially murder, yes absolutely, 100%.

The judicial system exists to test that.

What do you think might have happened if none of the officers had been armed?

I don't think the officer should have fired. The police were also armed with multiple two tonne vehicles, they had already bought Kaba's car to a stop once.

His family had some brass neck to campaign like that. If that was my son I'd be so ashamed of him that my grief would be a very private affair and I'd be more likely to be blaming myself for where I went wrong as a parent rather than blaming the police.

Why was the police officer who killed Chris Kabba identified but the police officer who killed Mark Duggan wasn't ?