No realistic prospect of conviction of officer known as W80, who says he acted in self-defence in 2015 shooting, CPS announces

The Metropolitan police officer who fatally shot Jermaine Baker will not face charges, prosecutors have said.



Baker, 28, from Tottenham, north London, died in 2015 as the result of a single gunshot wound during a Met operation in Bracknell Close, Wood Green.



He was killed when armed police swooped and foiled an attempt to free Izzet Eren as he was being transported from Wormwood Scrubs prison to Wood Green crown court on 11 December.



The Crown Prosecution Service had been investigating whether the officer had committed a criminal offence. The officer, known as W80, claimed to have acted in self-defence, believing that Baker was 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.

“As the case does not meet the evidential threshold set out in the code for crown prosecutors, no charges can be brought against W80.”



The CPS investigated the shooting following a referral by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (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 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.



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.



Baker was part of a group of men who were trying to help Eren escape from a prison van as he travelled to the court to be sentenced.



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

David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, has written to the attorney general calling for a review of the decision not to prosecute the officers who fired the fatal shot: “I am sure that you will appreciate the unprecedented history of cases of this kind in my constituency … I am confident that there is a real prospect that any independent review will lead to a prosecution.”

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.”