Relatives of a man shot dead by police have called for an urgent decision on criminal charges in the case, saying they “need answers”.
Chris Kaba’s family was speaking outside a coroner’s court after a brief initial hearing, a month after his death in Streatham Hill, south London.
Mr Kaba had been driving his Audi while being followed by an unmarked police car with no lights or sirens minutes before he was shot, the Inner South London Coroner’s Court was told.
He was then blocked by a marked police vehicle, with “contact” between the two cars, before a marksman fired a single shot through the windscreen, hitting him in the head.
Mr Kaba was unarmed.
His cousin Jefferson Bosela said outside court: “We need answers. Not just this family, but the whole of London – the whole of the country – needs to know how something like this could occur.
“How can a young man, sitting in a car, unarmed, be shot in the head by police in London in 2022?
“This should never have happened. It must never happen again. We must never accept this as normal. Someone must be held accountable.”
He added: “An urgent decision on criminal charges is critical for this family, and many others, to have faith in the system that is supposed to bring them justice.”
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The shooting is being investigated as a possible homicide but the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) probe is expected to take between six and nine months – too long, Mr Kaba’s family say.
Dean Brown from the IOPC told the court the officers that day were told the Audi was linked to a firearms incident the previous day, but they weren’t given Mr Kaba’s name, as the car did not belong to him.
A statement read out in the court said that the officer who discharged the firearm has been told they are under criminal investigation for the offence of the murder of Mr Kaba.
Mr Kaba, 24, was a construction worker, and he was months away from becoming a father when he died.
The inquest was opened and adjourned and will resume after the IOPC investigation is completed.
• Chris Kaba is driving an Audi in south London on 5 September
• Police are briefed that the Audi is possibly associated with a firearms incident the previous day
• Mr Kaba’s name is not included in the briefing as the car does not belong to him
• An automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) marker has been placed on the Audi
• The Audi is recognised by officers parked along the A202 in Camberwell Green
• The officers, in an unmarked car, follow the Audi, intending to use an “enforced stop extraction”
• At around 9.52pm they share this information via police airwaves
• At 10.07pm, Mr Kaba makes a left turn from New Park Rd onto Kirkstall Gardens
• A marked police armed response vehicle is waiting for him and one of its passengers is an officer known as NX121
• Officers decide to perform an “inline extraction” and they approach the Audi
• Evidence suggests contact was made between the Audi and the police vehicles
• NX121, standing in front of the Audi, fires a single shot through the windscreen
• The bullet strikes Mr Kaba in the head
• Officers give first aid before Mr Kaba is taken to King’s College Hospital
• Mr Kaba dies at 12.16am on Tuesday 6 September
