‘They left bloody footprints all over the carpet’: Police raid leaves man’s house trashed after Brixton shooting

A man’s house was allegedly left ruined by police officers after they broke down his front door to raid the property following a shooting.

Keith Morton, who lives in Railton Road, Brixton, claims he had his home trashed by Met officers as they hunted for the shooter of Lemar Urquhart, 27, who was killed on October 30.

Mr Urquhart was killed right outside Mr Morton’s house and the police searched the immediate area to find his killer. Mr Morton was not in the property at the time.

The shooting followed a car chase which saw Mr Urquhart crash his white MG into Deliveroo driver Guilherme Messias Da Silva, 23, and kill him.

A cordon was set up blocking access to Mr Morton’s house and other houses in the area.

Once the cordon had been removed and Mr Morton was allowed to return to his property five days later, he claims he found his door was hanging off the frame, the locks completely broken, bloody footprints on the carpet and a bug infestation in the house.

“It’s utter disrespect,” said Mr Morton. “I understand the police have a job to do but there’s common sense and a bit of respect for people. That hasn’t happened.”

Mr Morton claimed the police used his bins to throw away forensics gear. He also claims that the back door was also left open and the lights left on for the five days he was not allowed to return to his property.

Mr Morton said he was unable to care for his cat that has a tumour during this time, but his neighbour was able to feed it by leaving food outside.

“It was pure chaos,” said Mr Morton. “My neighbour called me and said ‘Keith, the police are kicking your door down. I think someone’s died on your doorstep.’”

Mr Morton was left to wander the streets and made homeless by police who refused to provide him assistance.

On the day of the shooting, Mr Morton was forced to stay up until 6am the following morning with nowhere to go until he was able to go to a friend’s house. 

He returned to the cordon outside his house but claims that police would not help him. 

Lambeth council began housing residents at a hotel in Croydon, but Mr Morton wanted to stay near to his community in Lambeth. 

His housing co-operative provided accommodation for him until the cordon was lifted.

“The police would have let me be homeless for five nights,” said Mr Morton. “There were three points at that cordon which means at least three police officers could have helped me from walking the streets. It’s just wrong. If this happened in Kensington and Chelsea would residents get the same treatment? I don’t think so.”

A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection to the shooting and bailed until mid-December.

A reward of £20,000 has been offered by Crimestoppers for any leads in connection to the killing.

Chief Inspector Steve Boswell, from the local policing team in Lambeth, said: “This was a tragic incident and we do not underestimate the impact it had on the community.

“In the aftermath we worked with the local authority to provide support to people who had been asked to leave their homes. Hotel accommodation was arranged for five people and a rest centre was opened at Brixton Town Hall.

“Many residents were allowed to return home the following day, however additional accommodation was arranged for one person who was not able to. One resident’s front door was damaged. The property was managed by a housing provider and we are working to establish what advice the resident was given about replacing the door.

“We were made aware that the scene had not been appropriately cleaned and some rubbish had been left in the area. 

“We are seeking to establish the full facts so we can ensure the same doesn’t happen in the future. The material wasn’t sensitive and has since been removed.”

Pictured top: Mr Morton’s front door with blood all over it (Picture: Handout)