It was the first fatal shooting of a UK police officer since 2012. (Representational)
A man who shot and killed a custody sergeant in a British police station while handcuffed will spend the rest of his life in prison after being sentenced on Thursday.
Louis de Zoysa, 26, was convicted last month of murdering Matt Ratana, a 54-year-old Metropolitan Police officer, in a south London custody centre in September 2020.
It was the first fatal shooting of a UK police officer since 2012. UK police are not routinely armed,
Passing sentence at Northampton Crown Court in central England, judge Jeremy Johnson handed de Zoysa a rare whole-life sentence.
As of December 2022, there were only 66 prisoners in England and Wales serving whole-life orders, which are reserved for the most serious murder convictions.
The judge noted during the sentencing that the starting point for killing a police officer is a whole-life order.
He added De Zoysa's actions after he was stopped by the police and shortly before he shot Ratana showed "a degree of planning and premeditation".
Ratana, who joined the Met in 1991 and was nearing retirement, was hit by three bullets fired from an antique handgun at Croydon Custody Centre and later died in hospital.
De Zoysa, who has autism and had claimed diminished responsibility at trial, had concealed the weapon during and after his arrest just prior to the shooting.
The jury in his trial decided he pulled the trigger deliberately, while handcuffed, and had not suffered an autistic episode.
De Zoysa fired a fourth bullet which hit an artery in his own neck, causing brain damage, and he now uses a wheelchair.
The judge said he had taken into account medical evidence regarding De Zoysa's condition but ultimately decided they were insufficient mitigating factors for a lesser term.
Johnson praised Ratana for devoting "his life to public service" and putting himself "in the way of danger to protect the public".
Following the sentencing, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley also paid tribute to the murdered officer and his colleagues.
"He was an outstanding officer who brought joy to his work, treating everyone with respect, compassion and good humour," Rowley said.
"Officers never have a perfect picture of what awaits them at the next incident... The men and women in policing, daily stepping forward into uncertainty and risk, are truly remarkable."
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