19 March 2018

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) today announced its decision not to prosecute the police officer who fatally shot Jermaine Baker in Wood Green on 11 December 2015. This decision is in response to the family’s application for a Victim’s Right to Review (VRR) of the original CPS decision of not to prosecute on 14 June 2017.   

Ms Margaret Smith, Jermaine’s mother said:
“My family and I have had a long and painful wait for this decision.  It is not only very disappointing, but also impossible to square with what we know about the available evidence.  We remain determined that the police officer who shot Jermaine must answer for his actions, and to that end we look now to the Coroner’s inquest to ensure that the shocking circumstances in which Jermaine lost his life are finally brought under public scrutiny.”

Deborah Coles, Executive Director of INQUEST said:
“This is a disappointing but not surprising decision given the institutional failure to prosecute police officers. This will further undermine confidence of bereaved families in the processes for holding police to account. At its core are concerns that the rule of law does not apply to the police for abuses of power in the same way as it does to an ordinary citizen. This serves only to create a culture of impunity which frustrates the prevention of abuses of power, ill treatment and misconduct.  The unexplained delay by the CPS in reaching their decisions is unacceptable and has caused huge distress to Jermaine’s family.  The inquest must now take place without delay to bring to light the actions of the police following the fatal use of force.”

Michael Oswald, solicitor for the family said:
“More than two years since Jermaine’s death, his family still have not had seen any semblance of accountability in respect of the circumstances in which he lost his life. Their wait has been all the more painful because they have been prevented from telling the public the shocking truth about how he died as they understand it on the information available to them.  They look forward now to a full and thorough inquiry by the Coroner so that those matters can finally be brought to light.  The public will then be able to come to their own conclusions about today’s decision by the CPS.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information, please contact Lucy McKay on 020 7263 1111 or here.

INQUEST has been working with the family of Jermaine Baker since his death. The family is represented by INQUEST Lawyers Group member Michael Oswald of Bhatt Murphy Solicitors