Met Police gun cop who shot dead gangster during an attempted jail van break-out ‘did not commit a crime’
Decision avoided potential mutiny by his firearms colleagues who vowed to rip up their gun licenses
A Met Police gun cop who shot dead a gangster during an attempted jail van break-out did not commit a crime, CPS lawyers ruled today.
The decision not charge the officer - known as W80 - with either murder or manslaughter avoided a potential mutiny by his firearms colleagues, leaving London exposed to terrorism.
He was arrested on suspicion of murder by the Independent Police Complaints Commission after fatally shooting 28-year-old Jermaine Baker in Wood Green, North London in December 2015.
Baker, of Tottenham, was sitting in the front passenger seat of a car with two other men planning to hijack a prison van taking a Turkish gang leader due to be sentenced at nearby Wood Green crown court when he was shot with a single bullet.
He was unarmed but an imitation Uzi machine gun was found in the back passenger footwell behind the driver's seat.
The Met SC&O19 firearms officers said he believed Baker was trying to reach into a bag for a gun when he shot him fearing he and his colleagues were in danger.
His angry colleagues had threatened to rip up their 'blue tickets' firearms authorisation licences - leaving London exposed to terrorists.
CPS lawyers took more than six months considering the decision after receiving an evidence file from the IPCC in December last year.
Met Police Federation branch chair Ken Marsh said : ''I am aware that my colleagues were muting removing their blue ticket and standing down if W80 had been charged.
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"In the current climate of terrorism that would have been catastrophic for London."
He added : "This is a victory for common sense.
"I am pleased they have recognised the job which firearms officers have to do and the split-second decisions they have to make.
"In the present circumstances and given everything firearms officers are doing to protect the public, it would have been a very brace and stupid decision to charge."
The CPS said this morning said there was no realistic prospect of convicting the officer.
They 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."
However, the decision is certain to lead to community tensions in an area where the nationwide riots of August 2011 were sparked off.
The IPCC said it was sending a file to the Met with a recommendation on whether W80 had committed any misconduct disciplinary offences and was waiting to hear from the London force.