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Jury shown CCTV footage of Croydon sergeant being fatally shot in custody block

Screen grab taken from handout CCTV dated 25/09/20 issued by the Metropolitan Police of a weapon (circled in red) laying on the floor, moments after Sergeant Matt Ratana was fatally shot <i>(Image: PA)</i>
Screen grab taken from handout CCTV dated 25/09/20 issued by the Metropolitan Police of a weapon (circled in red) laying on the floor, moments after Sergeant Matt Ratana was fatally shot (Image: PA)

Chilling footage showing how a Metropolitan Police officer was fatally shot inside a custody block has been shown to the jury as the alleged killer’s trial continues.

De Zoysa, 25, is accused of shooting dead Sergeant Matt Ratana, 54, at a custody block in Croydon on September 25 2020 while he was handcuffed.

CCTV footage showing the death of Sergeant Matt Ratana at Croydon custody centre was shown to the jury in full at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday and Thursday.

Louis De Zoysa is accused of shooting Mr Ratana with an antique revolver that was concealed in a holster as he was being detained at the centre.

The footage released by the Met on Thursday has been cut down to eight minutes and 47 seconds and includes body-worn camera video showing De Zoysa being stopped and searched on London Road, Norbury, south London, by officers in the early hours of September 25 2020.

He is then put into the back of a police van and taken to the custody block in Windmill Road, Croydon.

It also shows the moments before Sgt Ratana, who was 54, was fatally shot just after 2am, before cutting to immediately after, with De Zoysa being wrestled to the floor and the gun kicked away.

De Zoysa, 25, who was still handcuffed when Sgt Ratana was shot, is said by the Crown to have deliberately fired the weapon without warning into the officer’s chest after likely concealing the revolver and a holster “under one of his armpits”.

The defendant was 23 when the shooting happened and was living in a flat at a farm in Banstead, Surrey, having bought the gun, which was legal to own due to its antique status, on the internet in June 2020.

The gun had not been discovered during the stop and search of De Zoysa before he was taken to the custody block.

Members of the jury in the trial at Northampton Crown Court watched while a copy of a gun holster was shown in the courtroom during a brief hearing on Friday.

Jocelyn Ledward, for the prosecution, said the holster shown to the jury was “exactly identical” to the one owned by De Zoysa.

The prosecution alleges De Zoysa, who denies murder, “pulled the trigger on purpose four times” while he was handcuffed in a holding room at the custody centre, the first and second shots hitting Sgt Ratana, the third hitting the wall during a struggle with officers, and a fourth hitting De Zoysa himself.

They say the gun and holster were “probably concealed under one of his armpits”.

He had been arrested on London Road, Norbury, south London, during the early hours of September 25 2020, after a stop and search by officers found he had cannabis and seven rounds of ammunition.

Officers did not know De Zoysa had a gun until it was used to shoot Sgt Ratana.

Sgt Ratana had five injuries caused by two bullets – a fatal gunshot wound to the chest, with the bullet going through his heart, and four other injuries caused by a second bullet.

The second bullet passed through the muscles of his thigh and buttocks.

Both the prosecution and the defence agree De Zoysa, who was 23 at the time of the incident, pulled the trigger on the first and second shot and that the gun was fired four times.

They also agreed the third shot was fired when the gun was still in De Zoysa’s hand, and the fourth hit De Zoysa in the neck.

The trial continues on Monday.