News -
Misconduct case against firearms officer W80 dismissed
A misconduct hearing for a firearms officer known as W80 in relation to the fatal police shooting of Jermaine Baker in 2015 has found no case to answer.
The decision by an independently-chaired hearing panel came after an application for the allegations against W80- that he breached standards of professional behaviour in relation to use of force - to be dismissed.
A public inquiry in 2022 found that “W80 shot Mr Baker because he honestly believed that Mr Baker posed a lethal threat and that it was reasonably necessary for him to shoot in order to defend himself”. It added that “Mr Baker was lawfully killed”.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct directed – against representations from the Met – that W80 should still face a misconduct hearing.
The panel this afternoon, Wednesday, 15 October, found there was not enough evidence for the case to continue and dismissed it.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said:
“We remain acutely aware of the profound loss experienced by Mr Baker’s family and the enduring impact this case has had on them over the past decade.
“Today’s outcome is the right one. It follows a criminal investigation and a public inquiry that both found W80 acted appropriately during a fast-moving police operation to stop a highly dangerous gang freeing a prisoner.
“But W80 should never have been put in the position – an astonishing 10 years after the incident – of having to once again justify his actions to counter the very real threat he believed he and his colleagues faced that day.
“It goes to the very heart of the imbalance in how police are held accountable in this country. Too often I see the trauma of good officers who are prepared to confront dangerous criminals but are then left destroyed by a bureaucratic, slow and broken system of police accountability.
“We must overhaul how policing decisions, which are taken in split seconds, are later reviewed with the benefit of hindsight on freeze frame. The current system allows criminals and their legal teams to weaponise those decisions against officers, undermining their confidence to pursue criminals or use force. In a recent meeting with W80 I was left both upset and angry by the effect this decade of legal madness has had on him and his family.
“A rapid independent review was commissioned last October as part of work by this Government on police accountability, and reported to the Home Office in the spring. This rapid review examined the legal test for use of force in police misconduct cases - the exact issue in W80’s case.
“I hope the Government will now meet their commitment to officers by publishing and acting on the review’s findings and recommendations without delay.
“As I have said before, until we have a more just and timely system, it will continue to crush the spirit and confidence of our good officers to police London and keep us all safe.”
Background to this case
On 11 December 2015, during a planned intelligence-led police operation to prevent an organised criminal gang breaking a dangerous criminal out of lawful custody, W80 shot and killed Jermaine Baker as he sat in a vehicle with others in Wood Green.
Mr Baker was not in possession of a firearm. An imitation firearm, in the style of a black Uzi sub-machine gun, was recovered from the rear of the car.
The shooting of Mr Baker was referred to the then Independent Police Complaints Commission (now the Independent Office for Police Conduct) on the day of the incident.
On 16 December 2015, W80 was suspended from duty.
In June 2016, the criminal gang who took part in the plot was jailed for a total of 27 years.
In November 2016, the IPCC investigation concluded that W80 had a case to answer for gross misconduct for his use of lethal force.
In June 2017, the Crown Prosecution Service decided that W80 would not be charged with any criminal offence. W80’s suspension was lifted and he returned to work.
In March 2018, the IOPC recommended that W80 should face misconduct proceedings. The Met did not agree and did not follow the recommendation. The Met disagreed with the IOPC as to the correct self-defence test that applied in respect of police disciplinary proceedings. The Met contended that the criminal law test of self-defence applied. The IOPC maintained that the civil law test applied.
In May 2018, the IOPC directed the Met to start disciplinary proceedings. That direction was challenged by W80 in a judicial review claim that was taken all the way to the Supreme Court. At the first hearing of the case, the Divisional Court decided that the criminal law test applied. The Court of Appeal decided that neither the criminal law test nor the civil law test applied and that the test was simply the wording of the use of force standard in the police Standards of Professional Behaviour i.e. was the force used reasonable, proportionate and necessary in the circumstances. In its judgment on 5 July 2023, the Supreme Court decided that the civil law test applied.
An independent public inquiry heard detailed evidence about the circumstances in which W80 shot and killed Mr Baker. In July 2022, the inquiry’s report was published and included a narrative conclusion. It found that “W80 shot Mr Baker because he honestly believed that Mr Baker posed a lethal threat and that it was reasonably necessary for him to shoot in order to defend himself” and that “Mr Baker was lawfully killed”.
In September 2022, the MPS wrote in detail to the IOPC making strong representations and inviting them to review and reconsider their direction.
On 29 September 2023, the IOPC maintained their direction that a gross misconduct hearing for W80 should be held.
In November 2023, we announced given the significant impact on all concerned of the lengthy processes to date, it was in everyone’s interests we proceed to the misconduct hearing and conclude this matter.
The date for the hearing was set as quickly as possible in liaison with all parties and legal teams involved.
The misconduct hearing was chaired by independent barrister Chris McKay, sitting with Chief Superintendent Darren O’Callaghan from Hants Constabulary and Mark Dent, an independent panel member appointed by MOPAC.
W80 has remained in the Met’s firearms command while awaiting the hearing but is not deployed operationally. He is not suspended.