The widow of a Kiwi cop killed in the line of duty in the UK has issued a withering takedown of Metropolitan Police bosses who she says left him “vulnerable to murder”.
Matiu (Matt) Ratana was shot dead in 2020 at a police station in Croydon, London, after staff failed to take a gun from a suspect being processed into custody.
The veteran officer was shot dead despite Louis de Zoysa being arrested and searched by his colleagues.
Their failure to find the antique revolver he had stashed in an underarm holster came despite arresting officers finding bullets in his pockets.
A London coroner’s court ruled overnight that the death of the 30-year Met Police veteran was an “unlawful killing” and, outside the court, Ratana’s widow Su Bushby placed the blame squarely at the foot of the police, the Press Association reported.
She said she was angry over his death, which she told reporters “could have been avoided”.
“I have heard evidence regarding how Metropolitan Police officers did not do their jobs properly in searching a man who was in possession of a significant amount of drugs and bullets,” Bushby said.
“If it wasn’t for a catalogue of serious failings, and if people had done their job properly, Matt would still be alive today. The shoddy and inadequate search undertaken by the police officers was a neglect of their duty and left Matt vulnerable to murder.
“The number of failures, the gravity of them and the impact of both the search failures and failures in the transportation of (Louis) de Zoysa to the police station, that have come out during the evidence in this inquest, has left me devastated.
“It is my view that Matt has been let down by the Metropolitan Police,” she added.
“Matt gave so much to the Metropolitan Police and its failures to protect him on that night are now clear for all to see.
“The search should have been thorough, safe and systematic for it to be effective - it was none of those things.
Telling assembled media that she did not want her partner’s death to be in vain, Bushby also took issue with poor communication from the Metropolitan Police.
“Not once, during the past three years, has anyone from the Metropolitan Police informed me that there was any issue with the search on that fateful night.
“I have not been informed by anyone during this time that the actions of the Metropolitan Police may have contributed towards Matt’s death.
“If the Metropolitan Police had been more open and transparent with me about their failings, it would have gone a long way to making the last few weeks of this inquest easier.”
The court heard that an officer who searched de Zoysa abandoned his training and should have found the weapon.
After he was placed in the van, de Zoysa was seen wriggling, which experts said was the killer wriggling the gun into his hands.
He was then allowed to walk without an officer holding his arms and later moved his handcuffed arms from behind his back to shoot Ratana, who was just three months from retirement.
Met Police deputy assistant commissioner Stuart Cundy also spoke after the inquest, saying that his “first thoughts are with Matt’s partner Su and his family”.
“The appalling act of violence that stole Matt from them continues to have a lasting impact on all his loved ones and the large number of people whose lives he touched, both inside and outside of the Met,” Cundy said.
“Matt Ratana’s murder was a stark and terrible reminder of the risks and challenges police officers and staff undertake every time they turn up for work.
“We will never forget Matt and will continue to honour his legacy, which will live on through his family, his many friends and colleagues in the Met, in his rugby foundation and beyond.”