By Lucy Caulkett-
The family of an unarmed black man shot dead by a Metropolitan Police officer has called for urgency in the police investigation into his killing
A firearms officer fired a single shot at rapper Chris Kaba, 24, in Streatham Hill, south London, on 5 September.
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
Police said the car Mr Kaba was driving was involved in a firearms incident a couple of days earlier but have provided no further details about the incident.
Mr Kaba, who was due to become a father, was stopped by firearms officers when his car was flagged by a number plate recognition camera.
The victim’s cousin says the family want to know if police officers believed they were stopping the suspected owner of the car, or Mr Kaba, who the family says was not the registered owner.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
The officer who fired the shots has been suspended, but the family believes the suspension has been too slow. The family have welcomed the suspension announced by the Met on Monday but said there was “no urgency” around the investigation.
A statement by The Met Police on Monday said the firearms officer had been suspended due to the “significant impact on public confidence”, but its decision did “not determine the outcome of the IOPC investigation”.
Mr Kaba’s cousin, Jefferson Bosela told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that the Met Police should have suspended the officer as soon as the homicide investigation was launched by the IOPC, which was announced on 9 September.
Mr Bosela, the family’s spokesman, said: “We welcome that decision [suspension] but, to be honest, I think the second a criminal investigation was opened he should have been suspended from there.
“You know, first we wanted a criminal investigation opened and that took four days, and then the officer being suspended took another two days.
“So it seems like there’s no urgency in their dealings with this quite tragic matter.”
Mr Bosela added that the family wanted to know if police officers believed they were stopping the suspected owner of the car or Mr Kaba, who the family says was not the registered owner.
They are also demanding the IOPC releases police-worn camera footage of the shooting and aerial helicopter footage.
News of the suspension on Monday came as Mr Kaba’s family and friends joined members of the local community at a candlelit vigil, in the residential street where he was fatally shot, to mark one week since his death.
Last week, the IOPC told The Eye Of Media.Com that it could not disclose any details related to its investigation as part of its standard procedure, to prevent any conflict between statements provided by the police and the findings of the regulator.
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar