Sgt Matiu Ratana: Jury fires gun allegedly used to kill Met sergeant

An antique revolver alleged to have been used to kill a Metropolitan Police sergeant has been shown to a jury.

Louis De Zoysa, 25, denies murdering Matiu Ratana, 54, with a gun concealed in an underarm holster at Croydon Custody Centre in September 2020.

Ballistics expert Anthony Miller told jurors the gun did not go off by accident when Sgt Ratana was shot.

Jury members were allowed to hold the gun, loaded with dummy bullets, and fire it at the court ceiling.

The prosecution alleges Sgt Ratana, who was also known as Matthew and was the on-duty custody sergeant, was killed when Mr De Zoysa "pulled the trigger on purpose four times", while he was handcuffed in a holding cell.

The first and second shots hit Sgt Ratana, the third hit the wall during a struggle with officers and a fourth hit Mr De Zoysa in the neck, causing brain damage, the court has heard.

He is being assisted by an intermediary during his trial as a result of his injuries and uses a whiteboard because of communication difficulties, jurors have heard.

Speaking in short and simple sentences so Mr De Zoysa could follow proceedings, Mr Miller told Northampton Crown Court about "rigorous testing" he had carried out on the revolver: "I dropped it on the ground, I struck it with a cloth-faced hammer and I generally treated it roughly."

Asked by prosecutor Duncan Penny KC if the gun had gone off "by accident" during this rigorous testing, Mr Miller said it had not.

Mr Miller explained the gun was completely safe to be used in the court room and had been loaded with dummy bullets, although it was aimed at the ceiling while being fired as an extra precaution.

He told the court he had examined both the revolver as well as the ammunition that was recovered after the incident.

Imran Khan KC, defending Mr De Zoysa, told the jury on Wednesday the defendant had been suffering an autistic meltdown at the time of the shooting and "did not mean to or want to kill Sergeant Ratana, or to cause him really serious harm".

The court has previously been told Mr De Zoysa has an autistic spectrum condition.

Mr De Zoysa, of Banstead, Surrey, has pleaded not guilty to murder.

The trial continues.

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