IOPC Forces Gross Misconduct Hearing 10 Years After Lawful Shooting. ‘Second Bite At The Cherry, But What Happens When The Cherry Box Is Empty?’

A Scotland Yard firearms officer could be sacked almost a decade after shooting dead Jermaine Baker during an attempted prison break. The IOPC have now directed the Met Police to hold gross misconduct proceedings against the officer.

The highly trained marksman, known only as W80, shot Baker in December 2015 as the 28-year-old was preparing to help two prisoners escape from Wood Green Crown Court in north London. An imitation Uzi submachine gun was later found in the car, and Baker’s associates were jailed for a total of 27 years.

This is another firearms officer in the spotlight ten years after the incident. Yes, ten years after. The legal battle has dragged on throughout this time. W80, as he is dubbed, shot Baker — continually described in the press as a “gangster”, a phrase many are tired of reading, as he attempted a prison break. The officer, a highly trained member of the Met’s firearms command, made a split-second decision in the face of what he believed to be a lethal threat.

It is undoubtedly the case that when it comes to the most demoralised officers in the country, then the Met leads the way. There is no need to defund the Met, all you have to do is repeatedly demoralise them, and that is exactly what is happening.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been accused, repeatedly by former officers, of always wanting its “bite of the cherry.” But what happens when the cherries have finished and the box is empty? Who then do you want? We are rapidly arriving at the stage when we have so few firearms officers left it will seem like the plot of a film. Then what do you do, IOPC?

The drawn-out process highlights the deep cracks in the system. Almost immediately after the incident, the former IPCC concluded W80 had a case to answer for gross misconduct. The CPS decided there should be no criminal charges. An independent inquiry confirmed Baker had been “lawfully killed.” High Courts cleared the officer in record time. Yet, nearly a decade later, the IOPC has dragged the case all the way to the Supreme Court — where it won the right to force a gross misconduct hearing, set for October 2025.

Police accountability is vital — no officer should be above the law. But is what is currently happening truly accountability, or is it punishment by process? Officers are left in limbo for years, their careers and reputations shredded, their morale broken.

One firearms officer, Sgt Martyn Blake, was unanimously acquitted in just three hours at the Old Bailey after the shooting of Chris Kaba. Despite that acquittal, the IOPC has still ordered him to face gross misconduct proceedings.

So the question remains, is the IOPC ensuring justice, or circling endlessly like that famous bird of prey — always waiting for its next target?.

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