Jermaine Baker: Officer who shot man dead must face hearing - IOPC

Father-of-two Jermaine Baker was shot in Bracknell Close, near Wood Green Crown Court

A Met Police officer who shot dead an unarmed man in north London must face gross misconduct proceedings, the police watchdog has said.

Jermaine Baker, 28, was killed during a foiled attempt to free an inmate from a prison van near Wood Green Crown Court in December 2015.

A replica firearm was found inside the car in which Mr Baker was killed.

The Met said it would review the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) decision.

The police watchdog previously won a Supreme Court challenge over a past decision to bring forward a hearing.

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In 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service decided the officer, known only as W80, should not face criminal charges.

However, the IOPC told the Met gross misconduct proceedings should be brought against him.

W80 challenged that direction in the courts and in July, after the issue had been considered at three levels of the legal system, the Supreme Court ruled against him.

Prior to this, a public inquiry determined that Mr Baker was lawfully killed.

The Crown Prosecution Service previously ruled that the officer, known as W80, should not face criminal charges

IOPC acting director general Tom Whiting said: "This case has been through protracted legal proceedings which have been extremely challenging for everyone involved, not least W80 himself and Jermaine's family.

"We have now upheld our original decision that W80 should face a gross misconduct hearing. 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."

Deputy Met Commissioner Lynne Owens said the force would review the IOPC's "decision and reasons" and consider its "next steps".

Normally, the force would oversee a disciplinary hearing with a "legally qualified" chair.

However, the IOPC said it would ask the Met to consider bringing in another police force because of "recent commentary about this case".

Ms Owens questioned this request, saying: "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."

She said the force would seek legal advice on the issue.

Jermaine Baker's mother Margaret Smith welcomed the IOPC's decision to bring gross misconduct proceedings against W80.

Ms Smith also said the family would "strongly support" the IOPC's call for another police force to lead the hearing.

In a letter to the home secretary at the weekend, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley raised the case of W80 in the context of his concerns about the treatment of officers who fire their weapons.

Sir Mark said even if officers stuck to their training, they faced years of "protracted legal proceedings which impact on their personal wellbeing and that of their family".

After the CPS decision not to prosecute W80, Sir Mark Rowley said the officer's "credibility remained intact and was supported by policing and reconstruction experts".

Ms Smith said the commissioner's statements amounted to an "apparent capitulation to firearms officers demands for impunity".

'Prolonged uncertainty'

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has called on the government and policing leaders to determine a time limit for disciplinary proceedings against officers.

National chairman Steve Hartshorn said: "How is it right to allow endless, repeated and ongoing investigations into officers' actions at an incident without any time limit at all?

"The negative impact of this prolonged uncertainty on an individual, their families and their colleagues cannot be ignored or underestimated, nor can the impact it has on others involved.

"PFEW has been calling to determine a time limit for disciplinary proceedings against officers and is campaigning for it to be set at 12 months from the day allegations are made."

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