The Metropolitan police have no evidence or credible intelligence that a man shot dead by a marksman was previously involved in gang-related crime, the Guardian has learned.

Jermaine Baker, 28, was shot dead last Friday by an armed officer as police tried to thwart an alleged plot to free two prisoners being taken to a London court.

Baker died when, sitting in a car, he was hit in the neck with a single bullet fired by an armed officer, the Guardian has learned. Armed officers are trained and told to fire at the central body mass of a suspect, around the centre of the chest.



The shooting last Friday, about 100 metres behind Wood Green crown court, in north London, has led to the officer being suspended and a homicide investigation being launched by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Baker’s family have been upset by allegations in some media outlets that he had gang links, which have also caused disquiet in Tottenham, north London, where Baker’s family live.

Efforts to counter gangs involve a number of agencies, including the police and local councils. Information is collected on “gang nominals”, people suspected of gang activity.

A source with close knowledge of anti-gang efforts in the area said: “Our records do not show he was involved in gang activity.”

The source said there was no known link to Mark Duggan, who was shot dead in 2011 by police and was allegedly a key player in a violent Tottenham gang. The source said Baker had no links to other gangs mentioned in media coverage, some of which the police and gang experts say they have never heard of.

The source accepted it was possible that gang involvement by an individual could be missed, as could actual gangs. But tackling gang problems in Tottenham is a high priority.

Baker is believed to have been known to the police, other sources say.

Floral tributes remained at the scene of the shooting on Thursday. One card contained a tribute and then a reference to “NPK boys”, a gang called Northumberland Park Killers, named after an area of Tottenham.

Other messages praised Baker’s kindness, and empty bottles of cognac had been left, believed to be a reference to a drink he liked. White flowers attached to a fence spelled out “J Baker”, and there was a framed picture of him in a suit and tie.

A public meeting was due to be held on Thursday night during which the IPCC and Met police would face the Tottenham public.

The shooting happened during an intelligence-led operation by detectives from the Met’s organised crime command. They have said they believed a group of men were allegedly planning to free Izet Eren and Erwin Amoyaw-Gyamfi as they were being taken to Wood Green crown court for sentencing.

Both men were later jailed for 14 years. Four men arrested in the operation that led to Baker being shot have been charged with conspiracy to aid the escape of the two prisoners. Two of them have also been charged with possessing an imitation firearm.

The IPCC said it had recovered one imitation weapon from the scene.

An IPCC spokesperson said the decision to launch a homicide investigation was not the result of a change in policy, or because of any pressure, but because of early evidence from inquiries.

The decision to treat the police shooting as potentially criminal followed “an indication a criminal offence may have been committed”, the IPCC said.