The man who murdered Metropolitan Police Sergeant Matiu "Matt" Ratana, has lost his bid to challenge his whole-life prison sentence at the Court of Appeal.
Louis De Zoysa was told he would die behind bars in July 2023 after being convicted of Sgt Ratana's murder the previous month.
The 27-year-old shot Sgt Ratana in a holding cell in Croydon, south London, in September 2020. The officer, 54, died in hospital after being struck by two bullets.
De Zoysa's barristers had argued he should be allowed to challenge both his conviction and sentence. At a hearing on Thursday, the Court of Appeal dismissed De Zoysa's appeal bids.
Matt Ratana was shot by Louis De Zoysa at the custody centre
PA
Flowers outside Croydon Custody Centre in south London
PA
Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, rejected all applications.
"All applications will be refused, for reasons which we will give in writing," Dame Victoria said.
The judge added that the written reasons for their decision would come at a later date. De Zoysa's legal team had argued he was wrongly deemed fit to plead and stand trial.
They also claimed his sentence should not have been a whole life order. The Crown Prosecution Service opposed the appeal bids but were not required to make submissions in court.
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Wreaths are placed in front of the memorial stone dedicated to Sergeant Matiu "Matt" Ratana at Croydon Custody Centre
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The instant moments after Sergeant Matt Ratana was shot at Croydon custody centre
Met Police via PA
New Zealand-born Sgt Ratana was hit in the chest by the first of three shots discharged within three seconds. A second bullet struck the 54-year-old in the thigh before De Zoysa was wrestled to the ground by other officers.
The third round hit the cell wall at Croydon's Windmill Road custody centre. De Zoysa then fired a fourth shot while on the cell floor 16 seconds later, which hit an artery in his own neck and caused brain damage.
De Zoysa, formerly of Banstead, Surrey, claimed diminished responsibility but was found guilty after the jury decided he pulled the antique weapon's trigger deliberately.
Before his trial, two High Court judges ruled that De Zoysa was fit to enter pleas, despite his injuries. Imran Khan KC, representing De Zoysa, argued in written submissions: "The judge fell into error in finding that the applicant was fit to plead (and) to be tried. He was not."
General view of tributes are paid to local police officer Sergeant Matt Ratana
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Referring to the sentence, he told the court: "This case, looking at it in the round, is not one which by any stretch of the imagination falls anywhere near the evil end of the spectrum and therefore we say it should not have been a whole life order."
De Zoysa has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. He was arrested in London Road, Norbury, in the early hours of September 25, 2020.
CCTV footage shown at his trial at Northampton Crown Court captured the former tax office data analyst firing a legally bought revolver while handcuffed.
Officers had found a bag containing seven bullets and cannabis during a search, but failed to discover the .41-calibre revolver loaded with six rounds.
Sergeant Matiu Ratana, known as Matt, who died after being shot at a police station in Croydon
PA
While being transported to the Croydon police station, De Zoysa retrieved the weapon from a holster under his left arm despite being handcuffed.
Evidence suggested he managed to access the gun about 16 minutes before the shooting.
