UK

Chris Kaba’s family speak out after being shown bodycam footage of police shooting him dead

The mother of an unarmed black man who was killed by a police officer in south London has again called for justice after being shown the bodycam footage of his shooting.

Chris Kaba, 24, was killed on 5 September after a police chase in Streatham Hill.

His Audi was hemmed in by two police cars in a narrow residential street before one round was fired from a police weapon.

The Metropolitan Police officer involved has been suspended.

Earlier on Wednesday, the family spoke with new Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and were shown bodycam footage of the incident.

Chris Kaba
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Chris Kaba was killed on 5 September

Following the meeting, Mr Kaba’s mother Helen Nkama said: “It was hard… very hard.

“As I’ve said before, my heart is already broken.

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“What I want is justice for my son and I want the truth.”

Jefferson Bosela, Mr Kaba’s cousin, was also at the meeting.

“It was hard, but the family just wants justice,” he said.

“For now, the family are going to take a break and take a step back.”

Last week, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it would “explore all of the circumstances” surrounding the death of the rapper, including whether “race influenced any actions taken by the police”.

The IOPC will examine whether the police officers knew Mr Kaba before the incident and how they came to be aware of the vehicle he had been driving.

IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: “We fully appreciate that Chris Kaba’s devastated family and the community have a lot of unanswered questions about his death.

“We have also advised Chris’s family that we aim to complete our investigation within six to nine months.

“We understand that people want answers quickly, but this is a complex investigation involving a significant amount of evidence.

“There are a number of inquiries to carry out over the coming weeks and months, including expert analysis, and it is important that we allow our investigation to run its course as we seek to establish all of the facts.”

Mr Kaba’s relatives, however, are upset that the investigation could take up to nine months, saying this is “unacceptably long” and “lacks urgency”.

An inquest into Mr Kaba’s death will be opened on 4 October.