Sgt Matiu Ratana was the on duty custody sergeant
By Yasmin Rufo & Daniel Sandford
BBC News
A man accused of murdering a Metropolitan Police officer by shooting him at a custody centre “pulled the trigger on purpose”, his trial heard.
Louis De Zoysa, 25, denies killing Sgt Matiu Ratana, 54, by shooting him at the custody centre in Croydon, south London, on 25 September 2020.
Duncan Penny KC opened the prosecution by saying: “Louis de Zoysa pulled the trigger on purpose four times”.
He added Mr de Zoysa “injured himself with the fourth shot”.
Prosecutors allege Sgt Ratana, who was the on duty custody sergeant, was killed while Mr De Zoysa was handcuffed in a holding cell.
Mr Penny KC said: “The prosecution say Louis de Zoysa pointed his gun at Sergeant Ratana”, and that he “pulled the trigger on purpose twice when he was pointing the gun at Sergeant Ratana”.
Mr De Zoysa went on to pull the trigger four times and “there is CCTV footage and other video of what happened”, Mr Penny KC told jurors at Northampton Crown Court.
Louis De Zoysa arriving at court at the start of his trial on Tuesday in a wheelchair
“The video and the audio shows Louis de Zoysa killing Matthew Ratana,” the prosecutor said.
On the opening day of the case on Tuesday, the court heard the fourth shot hit Mr De Zoysa in the neck, causing him to suffer brain damage.
As a result, he will be assisted by an intermediary during his trial and uses a whiteboard because of communication difficulties, the jurors were told.
“I am going to be talking in short sentences and simple words,” Mr Penny KC told the court on Wednesday. “This is so that Louis de Zoysa can understand what I am saying.”
Mr De Zoysa, of Banstead, Surrey, pleaded not guilty to murder during a previous hearing at the same court in April.
Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.uk
Related Topics
Related Internet Links
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
