A man was guilty of murder for using an old pistol he had stowed beneath his armpit to kill Met Police Sergeant Matt Ratana in a detention facility.
The jury at Northampton Crown Court dismissed Louis De Zoysa’s argument that he mistakenly fired the gun during an autistic breakdown, despite his claim of diminished responsibility.
They were shown upsetting video of Sgt. Ratana, a New Zealander, receiving a chest wound from the first of De Zoysa’s three rounds fired in less than three seconds.
Despite the efforts of the medical personnel, he passed away in the hospital from his injuries.
A second bullet struck the 54-year-old in the thigh, before De Zoysa was wrestled to the ground by other officers as a third round hit the cell wall at Croydon’s Windmill Road custody centre.
De Zoysa, who was living in Banstead, Surrey, discharged a fourth shot while on the cell floor 16 seconds later, hitting an artery in his own neck and causing brain damage.