THE family of Chris Kaba has hit out at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after the watchdog said disciplinary proceedings against the officer who killed him should not go ahead.

Sgt Martyn Blake shot the 24-year-old in Streatham, south London, in 2022 after he tried to escape past police cars.

He was cleared of murder in 2024, but faced a separate disciplinary hearing, which the IOPC paused while awaiting changes to the legal test for misconduct in use-of-force cases.

Those changes, raising the test to match the criminal standard, came into force last week.

Campaign group Inquest, on behalf of the family, said the change meant bereaved families “will need to fight to persuade the IOPC to pursue disciplinary action against officers, even where a case to answer decision was made months or years ago,” warning the IOPC had explicitly cited Mr Blake’s case as an example for dropping proceedings elsewhere.

Temi Mwale and Kayza Rose, of the Justice for Chris Kaba Campaign, said the decision “sends a dangerous message: when police kill, the system will bend over backwards to protect its own rather than deliver accountability.

“Britain is moving backwards on police accountability and we refuse to accept it.”