Firearms officer used excessive force in fatal shooting of unarmed man in London, misconduct hearing told

A firearms officer used excessive force when he shot dead an unarmed 28-year-old man involved in a foiled attempt to spring a gang leader from prison, a police misconduct hearing has been told.

The officer, known only as W80, killed Jermaine Baker, from Tottenham, north London, during an operation to interrupt a criminal plot to snatch Izzet Eren, the head of the Tottenham Turks organised crime group, from a van heading towards Wood Green crown court in December 2015.

Officer W80, who denies the charges of gross misconduct, had been told before the operation that he should expect those involved in the scheme to be armed and dangerous, the hearing heard.

He shot Baker at close range as the suspect was sitting in the front passenger seat of a stolen Audi A6 near the court.

It is accepted that the officer honestly believed that his life and that of his colleagues in the operation were in danger but the case is being pursued on the grounds that it was not reasonable for him to come to this view.

It is claimed that officers shouted for those in the car to raise their hands and that officer W80 shot Baker when his left hand was at the level of his neck.

Baker, a father of two, was later found to be unarmed although a replica submachine gun was found in the footwell of the back seat of the car.

The hearing heard formal statements provided by officer W80 in which he stated that he had shouted “armed police, armed police” and ordered Baker to put his hands on the dashboard. He said he shouted this “several times”.

The officer said Baker’s hands moved quickly up towards his chest area seemingly towards a bag strapped to the upper part of his body, leading him to fear that he was reaching for a firearm.

“He was wearing a shoulder type bag high in the area of his chest,” the officer wrote in his statement. “I was focused on his hands. This quick movement of his hands and his failure to put his hands on the dash and to obviously surrender made me believe he was going for a gun. I perceived an imminent threat to my life and the life of my colleagues.

“I could not wait to see if he produced a gun because if I did by that time he would be in a position to shoot me or my colleagues. I decided that I had no option other than to fire in order to achieve rapid incapacitation to prevent an imminent threat to life.”

The Audi vehicle had been covertly fitted with audio devices by the police ahead of the operation but they did not pick up any evidence that officer W80 had ordered Baker to put his hands on the dashboard.

The chair of the panel, the independent barrister Chris McKay, said that the audio was noisy and chaotic and that while that some might think it would provide definitive answers that “the reality is that unfortunately it doesn’t”.

Opening the case, Gerry Boyle KC, counsel for the Metropolitan police, 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 two-week misconduct hearing comes after nearly 10 years of legal battles over the case.

The Crown Prosecution Service concluded in 2017 that there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against W80, but the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), directed that the officer should face misconduct proceedings.

This recommendation was rejected by the Met but the IOPC then directed that such a hearing take place.

This was challenged by officer W80, with the support of the Met. In 2023, the supreme court found in the police watchdog’s favour. There was also a public inquiry into Baker’s death that concluded three years ago that he had been lawfully killed.

Eren, whom Baker was seeking to break from prison, was due to be sentenced at Wood Green crown court on the day of the plot over various charges, including possession of a loaded Scorpion submachine gun and a loaded semi-automatic Tokarev handgun with intent to endanger life. He was shot dead in Moldova in 2024 as part of a gang war.