As the misconduct case against Sgt Martin Blake for shooting black gangster Chris Kaba looks set to be dropped, Paul Birch asks why some police shootings appear to matter to the ‘community’ than others.

Does anyone remember the death of Tony Keeble? How about David Joyce, or maybe Giedrius Vasiljevas? These men were all shot dead by the police in the United Kingdom in the last three years, but I would imagine that very few people will recall them because they were white.

Contrast those with the police shooting of career gangster Chris Kaba in 2022, where selective media and ‘community’ outrage dressed up as public conscience led to a Metropolitan Police firearms officer being tried for murder. Kaba was shot in Streatham, South London, in September 2022 after he had driven towards armed officers whilst trying to ram his way out of a police roadblock. He had been stopped as part of a pre-planned operation – called a ‘hard stop’ – as he was known on intelligence databases to be a habitual carrier of firearms.

The copper who fired the fatal shot, publicly named as Sergeant Martyn Blake (despite concerns for his safety), was subsequently acquitted of murdering Kaba by a jury at the Old Bailey in October 2024, after just three hours of deliberation. However, he had still been left facing allegations of breaching professional standards and the possibility of a gross misconduct hearing that could have ended his career. But following a review of rules governing the police use of force and their retrospective application this week, it now looks as though that disciplinary case against Sgt. Blake will be withdrawn. Police regulations seem to have finally caught up with common sense.

But why do we remember the likes of the Chris Kaba case or, indeed, that of Mark Duggan, but not others? The answer lies, predictably, in the politics of race and the wholesale importation of American ‘anti-racist‘ culture into the United Kingdom. This has led to the bizarre sight of protesters in London shouting “Hands up, don’t shoot!” at police officers armed with nothing more dangerous than some pepper spray and a stick.

The rhetoric of some self-appointed community groups can be corrosive. Genuine concern after a death involving the police is both legitimate and necessary. Families deserve answers and the public deserves transparency. But there is a world of difference between demanding accountability and pursuing a racially based anti-police narrative that treats an armed officer as being guilty from the outset. Too often, the language of ‘community justice’ appears to leave no room for the possibility that an officer acted lawfully and honestly.

Firearms officers are also under terrifying pressure, because they know full well that a lengthy investigation will automatically follow a discharge of their weapon. Their uniform and firearm will be seized and forensically examined, they will be suspended and they will feel very much alone. Their loved ones will be placed under immense strain for a protracted period and, if all that isn’t enough, they may have to face a criminal trial at the end of it.

Read More – Selective Outrage: Why Some Police Shootings Matter More Than Others