LONDON: An officer from London's scandal-hit Metropolitan Police has been charged with murder following the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old black man whose death sparked protests.
The firearms officer had been suspended pending an investigation after the deadly incident last September.
He will appear in court in central London on Thursday charged with the murder of Chris Kaba, said a statement by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Kaba died hours after he was struck by a single gunshot fired into the vehicle he was driving on September 5, 2022, according to the police watchdog.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Metropolitan Police's headquarters following the shooting in the Streatham area of south London.
Kaba's family welcomed the decision to charge the unnamed officer, saying they and the wider community needed to "see justice for Chris".
"Chris was so very loved by our family and all his friends. He had a bright future ahead of him, but his life was cut short," they said in a joint statement.
INQUEST, a charity that works on state-related deaths, said that since 1990 in the UK there had been 1,870 deaths in or following police custody or contact.
In that time there had been only one successful prosecution of a police officer -- for manslaughter in 2021 -- and none for murder.
Anita Sharma, INQUEST's head of casework, said police officers who killed members of the public should be "held to account to a criminal standard, but this is so often denied".
The Met, the UK's largest police force, has come under fire in recent years over a string of scandals including the kidnap, rape and murder of a young woman by a serving officer.
The force currently has around 1,000 officers suspended or on restricted duties while they are investigated for alleged wrongdoing and incompetence.
Deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Stuart Cundy, said on Tuesday that 60 officers a month could face the sack for at least the next two years due to the ongoing probes.