Metropolitan police officer spared misconduct case after law change

The Independent Office for Police Conduct announced that Sgt Martyn Blake will not be subject to a misconduct proceeding regarding the 2022 shooting of Chris Kaba in Streatham, south London. Blake had been cleared of murder by an Old Bailey jury in 2024. In January, the IOPC halted any action until a legislative amendment clarified the applicable test for use-of-force allegations, moving it from a civil to a criminal framework.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described the decision as ending almost four years of uncertainty for Blake, his family, and the firearms command, and expressed sympathy for Kaba’s grieving relatives. He also framed the outcome as a milestone for reforming police accountability, noting that officers should not endure multiple parallel investigations. The change reflects a broader push to align misconduct reviews with criminal law standards.