Statement read out at opening of inquest into the death of Chris Kaba

The below statement was read out today at the opening of the inquest into the death of Chris Kaba, which was heard at the London Inner South Coroner’s Court.

Opening note

The following summary is based upon the evidence collated to date in this investigation.

Summary of events

On Monday 5 September 2022, Mr Chris Kaba was driving an Audi motor vehicle in South London. The Audi Mr Kaba was driving was believed to be linked to a firearms incident which took place the previous day and an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) marker had been placed upon it.

A briefing was provided to officers prior to their shift on 5 September in which the Audi was brought to their attention as being potentially associated with the firearms incident the previous day. Mr Kaba’s name was not included in this briefing.

According to police logs and accounts received to date by officers, the Audi was recognised by officers parked at the side of the A202 in Camberwell Green in an unmarked armed response vehicle (ARV). The officers then started to follow the vehicle and circulated this via police airwaves at around 9.52pm.

Officers continued to follow the Audi until 10.07pm. The officers did not activate their lights or sirens while following the vehicle. The intention was to use an ‘enforced stop extraction’ on the Audi.

At around 10.07pm, Mr Kaba made a left turn from New Park Road onto Kirkstall Gardens. Already present on Kirkstall Gardens was a marked police armed response vehicle. The marked ARV had parked on Kirkstall Gardens with the intention of joining the other police vehicles behind the Audi once it had passed the junction. One of the officers inside the marked ARV was NX121.

Once Mr Kaba made the left turn the decision was taken to perform an ‘inline extraction’. Armed officers exited their vehicles and approached the Audi. The evidence suggests that contact was made between the Audi driven by Mr Kaba and the police vehicles.

The evidence further suggests that officer NX121 was standing to the front of Mr Kaba’s vehicle. A single shot was fired by officer NX121 piercing the front windscreen of the vehicle Mr Kaba was driving and struck him.

Officers at the scene provided first aid to Mr Kaba before he was taken to King’s College Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12.16am on Tuesday 6 September 2022.

Investigation progress

Substantial progress has been made in the investigation to date. IOPC investigators attended the scene of the incident in the hours after it occurred and an independent investigation was declared as soon as the IOPC was informed.

Two post incident processes have taken place, during which the key police witnesses have provided their S9 statements.

The officer who discharged their firearm – NX121 – has been notified they are under criminal investigation for the offence of the murder of Mr Kaba.

The terms of reference for the case have been drafted and a 6 - 9 month timeframe has been set to complete the investigation.

Forensic work was conducted, both at the scene and later on the Audi Mr Kaba was driving, along with a number of police vehicles. This work is extensive and remains ongoing.

Investigators have conducted a number of house-to-house and CCTV trawls on Kirkstall Gardens and the surrounding area. The investigation is still eager to hear from anyone who has not made contact to date who witnessed the incident.

A post-mortem on Mr Kaba has been completed and further pathological work is in train. A provisional cause of death of ‘gunshot wound to the head’ has been issued.

The IOPC has met with the family of Mr Kaba and their representatives. They will continue to be updated in line with all IOPC investigations.