Relatives of man shot dead by police ‘concerned’ by watchdog resignations
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Relatives of a man who was shot dead by police have said it is “unsettling” and they are “concerned” by the resignations of two senior officials from the watchdog which is investigating what happened.
Chris Kaba, 24, died after being shot by a Metropolitan Police firearms officer in Kirkstall Gardens, Streatham Hill, south London, shortly after 10pm on September 5.
The shooting is being investigated as a potential homicide.
The Kaba family said the probe by the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), is taking too long.
They said they are waiting for answers over who is responsible and have called for an urgent decision on criminal charges in the case.
In a statement, the family said: “We have concerns that two of the senior people at the IOPC who have been overseeing the homicide investigation in this case — Michael Lockwood and Sal Naseem — have resigned during the investigation.
“We find this unsettling and are concerned that it does not affect the nature of the IOPC decisions or their timing – we have already waited too long to know if the IOPC is seeking advice on criminal charges from the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service).”
Sal Naseem’s departure from the IOPC will have no impact on the progress of this investigation
IOPC director general Mr Lockwood stepped down in December as he was the subject of a police probe into an historic allegation.
The departure of Sal Naseem, the regional director for London and national lead for race discrimination, was announced this month, the organisation said.
An IOPC spokesman said: “Sal Naseem’s departure from the IOPC will have no impact on the progress of this investigation.
“The decision maker role for this matter has been reallocated to our director of operations, Amanda Rowe.”
An inquest at Inner South London Coroner’s Court in October heard that Mr Kaba was followed by an unmarked police car with no lights or sirens turned on in the minutes before the shooting.
After his Audi drove down Kirkstall Gardens he was blocked by a marked police vehicle and there was “contact” between the two cars, the court heard, before a marksman fired a single shot through the windscreen, hitting Mr Kaba in the head.
