THE grieving partner of a gunned down cop is suing the Met Police over “failures” and has said his death could have been avoided.
Sergeant Matt Ratana, 54, died after being blasted four times during a search at Croydon Custody Centre on September 25, 2020.
Louis De Zoysa, 25, pulled out an antique revolver from a concealed underarm holster and fired from point-blank range.
His hands had been secured behind his back, but he managed to fire four rounds.
De Zoysa is serving a whole life sentence for the killing.
Senior coroner Sarah Ormond-Walshe ruled there was a “failure” in the checks during the hearing in Croydon, South London, last year.
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Now his grieving partner Su Bushby, 47, is suing Scotland Yard as she claims his death could have been avoided if police had carried out a proper search of De Zoysa.
She also alleged that cops did not tell her about the mistakes they made.
Su, of Worthing, West Sussex, told The Mirror: “If it was an effective search the gun would have been found on De Zoysa and Matt would be alive now.
“The shoddy and inadequate search by officers was a neglect of their duty and left Matt vulnerable.
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“The number of failures that came out during the inquest has left me devastated.
“I have not been informed by anyone during this time that the actions of the Metropolitan Police may have contributed towards Matt’s death.”
Tragically, Sgt Ratana had moved to work in custody because it was safer before his killing.
The cop, who had served with the Met since 1991, was the first ever officer to be killed inside a British police station.
Scotland Yard said: “We have received a civil claim in relation to the murder of Matt Ratana.
“We will not be discussing further while it remains ongoing.”
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Jonathan Rose
