Chris Kaba death: why officer was not charged with manslaughter

While Martyn Blake was acquitted of murder, questions have been raised about why he didn’t face alternative charge

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 the 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.