Questions arise about why the charge of manslaughter was not put before jury

In the fallout from the acquittal of Martyn Blake, the police firearms officer who stood trial for the murder of Chris Kaba, many questions have arisen. One of them is why he was not charged with manslaughter. The theory goes that it was always going to be difficult to get a jury to convict a police officer of the most serious form of homicide, whereas manslaughter may have been an easier to prove and more palatable option.

- Haroon Siddique and Vikram Dodd

The argument appears to be supported by the fact that no police officer has ever been convicted of murdering a suspect and that the only time an officer has been found guilty over a death in the line of duty in the last 37 years was for manslaughter.

However, in that 2022 case, in which PC Benjamin Monk was convicted over the death of the former footballer Dalian Atkinson, the officer did not kill the former professional footballer with a firearm but used an electric stun gun on him and kicked him in the head as he lay on the ground.