Marksman 'saw empty hand' before fatal shooting

Father-of-two Jermaine Baker was shot near Wood Green Crown Court as police foiled a planned snatch of two prisoners

A firearms officer shot a man dead during a foiled prison break, despite being able to see his empty hand and no sign of a weapon, a misconduct hearing has been told.

The Met Police officer, known only as W80, killed 28-year-old Jermaine Baker as police stopped a plot to snatch two prisoners from a van near Wood Green Crown Court in north London on 11 December 2015.

Mr Baker, from Tottenham, was shot at close range by counter-terrorism specialist firearms officer W80, who thought he was reaching for a gun.

The misconduct proceedings involving W80 have begun after years of legal battles over the case, in which he is accused of breaching professional standards regarding the use of force.

'Highest tier'

Father-of-two Mr Baker was one of three men waiting in a stolen Audi A6 to break out two prisoners including Izzet Eren, a senior member of the notorious Tottenham Turks gang.

Mr Baker, who was sitting in the front-passenger seat, was unarmed and an imitation firearm was later found in the back of the Audi.

It is alleged that it was unreasonable for the marksman to believe that the 28-year-old was carrying a gun.

At the start of the case, chairman of the misconduct hearing panel Chris McKay set out the details of the case against W80.

The hearing was told that he opened fire immediately after opening the passenger door of the car, and that Mr Baker's left hand was raised and empty when he was shot.

W80 did not see a weapon or anything resembling a weapon, the panel was told.

It is claimed that W80 did not tell the suspect to put his hands on the dashboard before he shot him, or if he did, he did not give him enough time to comply with the instruction before opening fire.

W80 was a counter-terrorism firearms officer in the "highest tier" of armed officers in the country and had been trained to carry a gun since 1998.

The Crown Prosecution Service previously ruled that the officer should not face criminal charges

Opening the case, Gerry Boyle KC, counsel for the Metropolitan Police, went through the details of several internal briefings that took place before the operation to stop the jailbreak.

He said that one of the briefings, at about 03:00 GMT on 11 December - a few hours before the shooting - left W80 believing that the men in the Audi would be armed.

"At the end of this briefing his state of mind was that the attack was likely to happen, that it would be undertaken by a group of experienced and dangerous individuals who would be armed and would use firearms in the course of the offence," Mr Boyle said.

When armed officers surrounded the Audi, the windows were steamed up and they could not see inside.

W80 previously said that he opened the passenger door and saw a man with his face covered.

He said he repeatedly asked Mr Baker to put his hands on the dashboard, but the 28-year-old moved his hands up towards a bag slung across his shoulder, at which point W80 shot him.

Mr Boyle said: "W80 saw a man sat in the passenger seat with nothing in his hands.

"The evidence suggests that W80 did not lose sight of Mr Baker's hands at any stage - they were therefore visible and empty. But W80 discharged his firearm."

The Crown Prosecution Service ruled in 2017 that there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges over the shooting, but a police watchdog directed that the officer should face misconduct proceedings.

This sparked a lengthy legal battle between watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and the officer, who was supported by the Met Police.

In 2023, the Supreme Court found in the IOPC's favour, meaning the misconduct hearing would go ahead.

In 2022, a public inquiry into Mr Baker's death concluded he had been lawfully killed.

The misconduct hearing is scheduled to last for two weeks.