Jermaine Baker shooting: Met Police firearms officer to face gross misconduct hearing

The firearms officer who killed Jermaine Baker during a foiled prison breakout almost eight years ago faces a gross misconduct hearing, the police watchdog has announced.

Mr Baker, 28, was shot during a Metropolitan Police operation to thwart a plot to spring two prisoners from a van near Wood Green Crown Court in north London in December 2015.

The marksman who pulled the trigger, known publicly as W80, was investigated on suspicion of murder, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to charge him with any offence in 2017.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) directed that the Met should bring disciplinary proceedings against the officer for gross misconduct following an investigation.

The decision was challenged by W80 in 2019 but the Supreme Court sided with the watchdog in a ruling in July following a lengthy legal battle – during which the officer was backed by the Met.

A public inquiry last year concluded Mr Baker was lawfully killed. He was unarmed but an imitation firearm was found in the car used in the plot.

Mr Baker was among a group of men trying to free Izzet Eren and his co-defendant as they were transported from Wormwood Scrubs to be sentenced for a firearms offence.

A number of men were jailed in 2016 for their parts in the plot.

The officer who shot him had honestly believed Mr Baker had ignored his instruction to show his hands and was reaching for a weapon, the inquiry found.

The IOPC has announced the marksman will now face a gross misconduct hearing, which could result in him being sacked.

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IOPC acting director General Tom Whiting said: “This isn’t a decision we have taken lightly, but we believe that it was the right decision in 2015 and remains so following the clear ruling from the Supreme Court in July.

“It’s important to stress that the IOPC does not decide whether or not W80’s actions amounted to gross misconduct – that is the role of the hearing panel who will come to a decision after considering all of the evidence.”

The IOPC’s decision is likely to cause further concern among the Met’s firearms officers, many of whom put down their weapons after one of their colleagues, known only as NX121, was charged with the murder of Chris Kaba.

Mr Kaba was killed in September last year in Streatham, south London.

The Met Police has said it informed the IOPC more than a year ago that it “disagreed” with the direction to hold a gross misconduct hearing for the officer over the incident.

Deputy Commissioner Lynne Owens said: “We note that the IOPC has asked the MPS to consider asking another force to hold the hearing to provide additional reassurance about the independence of the process.

“We do not accept that our wider call for support and legal reassurance for armed officers impinges upon our independence, nor the impartiality of the misconduct hearing process.”