Met Police firearms officer who shot and killed Chris Kaba in London four years ago FINALLY has misconduct proceedings against him dropped
A Metropolitan Police firearms officer who shot and killed Chris Kaba in south London has had misconduct proceedings against him dropped, four years after the incident. The case had drawn intense scrutiny of armed policing in Britain, with the officer's identity previously shielded amid concerns raised by police federations about officers being unfairly pursued for split-second decisions made in the line of duty.
Kaba, an unarmed Black man, was shot dead by police in September 2022 after the car he was driving was linked to a firearms incident, sparking protests and a wider debate about the use of lethal force by armed officers. The officer had already been cleared of murder at a criminal trial, and the dropping of the internal misconduct case marks the conclusion of the disciplinary process against him.
- Misconduct case against officer who shot Chris Kaba has been dropped
- Kaba was killed by Met Police firearms officer in September 2022
- Officer had previously been acquitted of murder at trial
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Those who welcome the decision argue that the officer had already faced the most serious test available to the justice system, a full criminal trial, and was unanimously acquitted, so pursuing a parallel misconduct case risked punishing him twice for the same split-second decision. Firearms officers, they contend, are asked to make life-or-death judgements in an instant, and if such decisions are picked apart indefinitely afterwards, fewer officers will be willing to volunteer for this dangerous, essential role, ultimately making the public less safe. On this view, drawing a line under the case respects due process and the jury's verdict.
The case against
Those who are troubled by the outcome point out that criminal and misconduct proceedings serve different purposes and operate to different standards of proof, so an acquittal in a criminal court does not automatically mean an officer's conduct met the standards expected of the police service. They note that Chris Kaba was unarmed when he was shot, and that the case became a focal point for wider concerns about the use of lethal force against Black men and the adequacy of independent oversight. For them, dropping the misconduct process without full scrutiny risks leaving legitimate questions unanswered and could undermine public confidence that officers are held accountable through every available mechanism, not just the criminal courts.