Meet Sal Naseem, the Diversity Activist Responsible For Opening the IOPC’s ‘Homicide’ Investigation into Sgt Martyn Blake for Shooting Gangster Chris Kaba

It took just three hours for the murder charge against Met firearms officer Martyn Blake, who shot and killed London gangster Chris Kaba during a police ‘hard stop’ in September 2022, to be thrown out by a jury last month. Kaba had tried to evade arrest by ramming officers’ cars with a two-tonne Audi, and with officers also in danger on foot, the jury ruled Sergeant Blake had acted lawfully in discharging a shot to protect himself and his fellow officers. Indeed, other firearms officers present at the scene testified that if Blake, who had the best view of the car, had not shot Kaba first, they would have done so themselves. Yet for doing his job under difficult circumstances, Blake has had to endure a homicide investigation by the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), and then, off the back of it, the stress of prosecution for murder by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). And while he was found not guilty, the court’s decision – pushed for by the BBC and others – to lift reporting restrictions on his identity means he still faces a life sentence of looking over his shoulder: he now has a bounty on his head from 67, Kaba’s murderous London gang. Indeed, even after his acquittal in the courts, he still faces potential suspension from the Met for gross misconduct.

With the full facts of the incident now released, including bodycam footage and details of Kaba’s violent criminal past, the perception is growing that Blake is a hero cop who has been the victim of a witch hunt. Considerable scrutiny is now falling on the IOPC and the CPS for its murder prosecution.