Last week the Metropolitan police killed 24-year-old Chris Kaba.
| Chris was unarmed when he was shot on a residential street in Streatham. His family are calling for e Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to declare the killing a homicide. The IPOC has begun a homicide investigation and the police officer that shot Chris has been suspended from duty. We know the IOPC is not a truly independent body. We know that Chis’ murder is an extreme example of harassment, violence and racism faced by communities like ours every day at the hands of the Met In response to the killing thousands of people protested in Trafalgar Square against police brutality. The police must be disarmed. We need a curb of police powers and role, including use of force, stop-and-search. We are proud of the Branch’s history of standing with the victims of police violence and fighting against extended police powers. The police are not a neutral body, existing to protect the interests and welfare of “the public”. They are a force sanctioned to use violence in the service of the state, and the class that rules that state. It is their interests they exist to defend. They perpetuate the structures of power, domination, and violence which our society is built on. We will send out details of any future protests and actions as soon as we receive them. We hope to see you there. The family ask for privacy at this difficult time. They have issued the following statement: “The family of Chris Kaba seek a homicide investigation into his death from the outset. We have today told the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) of that demand and that we do not want any delay as has happened in other fatal shootings – otherwise we and the wider public can have no confidence that the police will be held to account. We also want the IOPC to tell us whether or not a weapon was found in any search of the vehicle that Chris was driving. We have not received this information even though the shooting happened almost two days’ ago. Finally, we are desperately appealing for any witnesses, whether before, during or after the pursuit and the shooting, to come forward to the IOPC and / or to our solicitors at Hickman and Rose. We are devastated; we need answers and we need accountability. We are worried that if Chris had not been Black, he would have been arrested on Monday evening and not had his life cut short.” |
Lambeth UNISON 