AN armed cop shot dead a driver because he feared colleagues could be killed, a court heard yesterday.

Martyn Blake, 40, said that Chris Kaba was using his vehicle as a weapon to escape and there was an “imminent threat”.

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Mr Kaba, 24, was shot in the head through the windscreen of the Audi Q8, which had been linked to a shooting.

A convoy of armed officers tailed it before forcing it to halt in Streatham, South London, in September 2022.

About ten officers got out of six cars, with Blake in front of the Audi.

The Met officer said he yelled: “Armed police, show me your hands.”

Kaba then drove “at great speed” toward himself and another officer, he added.

Blake told the Old Bailey: “I had a genuine belief either of us could be killed.”

He said his vehicle and another car were rammed before the Audi got wedged.

The officer said he challenged Mr Kaba again but he reversed at great speed.

He said: “I had a genuine-held belief that one or many of my colleagues could be killed. I then made the decision to incapacitate the driver.”

The officer overseeing the operation told the court Blake had been “calm and collected”.

Prosecutors claimed the Audi was doing only 12mph forward and 8mph reversing.

Blake denies murder.

The trial continues.