The family of a man shot dead during a police operation in 2015 have expressed shock that the officer who killed him is not going to face criminal charges.



Jermaine Baker’s family have written to the Crown Prosecution Service demanding an urgent review of the decision.

The CPS announced on Wednesday that the Metropolitan police officer who fatally shot Baker will not face charges.

Margaret Smith, 49, Jermaine Baker’s mother, said she believed that the CPS had made the decision because it was scared of prosecuting police officers for fatal shootings. “I believe that from the bottom of my heart,” she said. “If ever there was a case of a police officer carrying out a fatal shooting who should be prosecuted, it should be this one.”

Jermaine Baker, who was shot dead by police in 2015. Photograph: PA

Baker, 28, from Tottenham, north London, who was unarmed when he was shot, died as the result of a single gunshot wound during a Met operation in Wood Green.

He was killed when armed police foiled an attempt to free Izzet Eren as he was being transported from Wormwood Scrubs prison to Wood Green crown court on 11 December 2015. The officer, known as W80, claimed he had acted in self-defence, believing that Baker had been reaching for a firearm.



“The CPS has concluded that there is not a realistic prospect of conviction,” it said in a statement. “The prosecution could not prove to the required standard that W80 was being untruthful about his belief that Mr Baker was armed and reaching for a weapon to fire on the officers.”

Baker’s family has received a 200-page report from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which investigated the fatal shooting, and said that while they cannot disclose its contents at the moment they believe there will be public uproar when the full circumstances surrounding the shooting are made public.

Here we go again, another fatal shooting by police of an unarmed man in Tottenham Margaret Smith

“There is evidence in that report which calls into question the decision not to prosecute the police officer who shot Jermaine,” said Smith. “The people of Tottenham will be very angry. Here we go again, another fatal shooting by police of an unarmed man in Tottenham.”

“The decision made by the CPS is plainly wrong and we will be challenging it. We hope that when the CPS review their decision they will decide to prosecute the officer and during the criminal trial the full story about what happened during the incident can be made public.”

“I knew Jermaine better than anyone and I know that if he was confronted with an officer pointing a gun at him that he would have put his hands up.”

She added that she was upset with the way the CPS had treated the family, with the director of public prosecutions ignoring their requests for an explanation of why there had been a delay in making Wednesday’s announcement. They had originally said a decision would be made in April.

The CPS investigated the shooting following a referral by the IPCC after evidence was uncovered that could have pointed towards a criminal offence being committed by the officer.

Baker was not found to be armed, although an imitation Uzi submachine gun was recovered from a holdall in the rear footwell behind the driver’s seat of the car.



The car Baker was in had been bugged by police. Shortly before 9am, armed officers surrounded the vehicle and he was shot. Baker was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The officer claimed to have acted in self-defence, believing that Mr Baker was reaching for a firearm in a bag he was wearing and that he and his colleagues were in imminent danger of being shot,” the CPS said.

“As a result of operational briefings, the officers reasonably believed that the men in the car were dangerous individuals who were armed and prepared to use their weapons to achieve their criminal purpose. Although armed police may use lethal force where necessary in the line of duty, they are subject to the same laws of self-defence and the use of reasonable force as any member of the public.

“This means that the actions of an officer, including the use of pre-emptive shots with intent to kill, will be judged on whether they were reasonably necessary in the circumstances as he honestly believed them to be, even if that belief is mistaken.”

Police chiefs feared that a decision to charge and prosecute W80 would have led to anger from fellow firearms officers and threats to lay down their weapons. At any time, this would have been serious, but even more so while Britain faces an unprecedented terrorist threat.



The long wait for the CPS decision had placed a strain on the Met, which released a statement saying: “With the events of 3 June and 22 March so fresh in the public’s mind it is clear why now, more than ever before, our armed officers provide an invaluable service in keeping Londoners and their own unarmed colleagues safe. We rely upon on them to provide this, quite frankly unique, policing role.



“We all rely on them to take decisive action, without hesitation, in the face of the enduring threat from terrorism. This role requires them to face and quickly assess threats beyond the obvious such as the overt possession of a gun or knife, but those threats that could result in an immediate significant loss of life.”



It added: “We will continue to give our armed officers every support and reassurance to ensure they have the confidence to keep fulfilling this crucial role at this difficult time. It falls upon the senior leaders of policing to ensure when we call upon our firearms officers to use force they can do so with the confidence of the public and the knowledge that the system to hold them to account will treat them fairly.”



Baker’s family and those close to W80 believe it took too long for a decision to be made on criminal charges. The officer was originally arrested over the shooting in December 2015. Armed officers are volunteers and police chiefs are trying to recruit more of them to deal with the threat of a terrorist attack similar to that which struck Paris in November 2015.

The IPCC said: “We are aware of the CPS decision to take no further action in this case. Our report, including the investigator’s opinion as to whether or not any officers have a case to answer for misconduct, has been provided to the Metropolitan police service and we await its response.”

Smith said: “I can’t even begin to grieve for Jermaine yet. I have a fight on my hands and I won’t give up until we get justice for Jermaine.”

The family’s solicitor, Michael Oswald of Bhatt Murphy solicitors, said: The full picture of the circumstances surrounding Jermaine’s death has yet to come out into the open. When it does, the public will be shocked by what took place, and will be surprised and concerned that the CPS could have reached the decision it communicated today.”

He asked the CPS to conduct a review of the decision of the decision not to prosecute as a matter of urgency.