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 on Wednesday, 15 October, found there was not enough evidence for the case to continue and dismissed it.
Tiff Lynch, National Chair, Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “The Independent Office of Police Conduct’s action to direct the MPS to bring gross misconduct proceedings against W80, even after being offered detailed evidence, was disgraceful, irrational and unfair.
“W80 and his family have endured almost a decade of distress. Nationally, we see first hand the damage caused by protracted investigations running on for years. They ruin lives, ruin careers and severely impact the mental health and wellbeing of police officers. This must end.
“Greater protections are also desperately needed for firearms officers who must make split-second decisions in the face of life or death. We are proud to have the best trained, most restrained, and professional armed officers in the world, but they must be able to trust the systems and safeguards in place to support them in such high-risk roles.
“We will continue to press the Government to urgently implement the Accountability Review recommendations so legal safeguards and reformed processes to speed up investigations can be adopted to allow police officers to have the confidence to do their job, serving and protecting the public.”
