A firearms officer who killed a man during a foiled prison breakout can face misconduct proceedings, the court of appeal has ruled after a challenge by the police watchdog. Jermaine Baker, 28, was shot by an armed officer during a breakout attempt near Wood Green crown court in north London in December 2015. He died from a single gunshot wound. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) brought the case against a Metropolitan police officer known as W80, who fired the shot that killed Baker. Criminal charges against W80 were dropped in 2017. The case was heard in the court of appeal in July. It focused on when use of force by a police officer was – or was not – justified. W80 argued that use of force was justified if an officer honestly believed a particular situation required it. The IOPC said if that belief, even if honestly held, was unreasonable or irrational, police should not be allowed to escape sanctions for use of force. The ruling provides clarification of the test to be applied when determining whether a police officer’s use of force amounts to misconduct. It confirms that where officers say they have made an honest mistake that they faced imminent danger, the force used in response may amount to misconduct if that belief was unreasonable. This decision means W80 will face proceedings for gross misconduct. It also gives important clarification of the standard against which all UK police officers will be judged when using force that they claim was necessary in self-defence or defence of another person. Baker’s mother, Margaret Smith, welcomed the ruling. She said: “What is important now is that W80 is held to account for his actions. The Metropolitan police service have fought hard to avoid taking any action against him. We look to the MPS now to respect the direction of the IOPC and the decision of the court of appeal and to bring proper and effective proceedings against W80.” But the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner, Matt Twist, said firearms officers would be disappointed by Friday’s ruling. Baker was among a group of men trying to free Izzet Eren as he was transported from Wormwood Scrubs prison to be sentenced for a firearms offence. Officer W80 said he had acted in self-defence, fearing Baker was reaching for a gun. No firearm was found but police recovered an imitation Uzi machine gun in the rear of the car. In 2019 the IOPC directed the Met police to launch disciplinary proceedings into the officer over alleged use of excessive force. W80 disagreed with this directive and took a case to the high court, which found the IOPC had applied the wrong legal tests to order the gross misconduct hearing, and quashed the directive. Michael Oswald, of Bhatt Murphy solicitors, representing Baker’s family, said: “The court of appeal has firmly rejected attempts by the Metropolitan police service and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to weaken police accountability for the use of force in this country. However, it is deeply troubling that those organisations seem to remain so resistant to public scrutiny. It is completely at odds with their very public statements purporting to stand in support of calls for police accountability in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.” The IOPC’s director general, Michael Lockwood, said it was “an important legal decision for maintaining public trust and confidence”. He added: “We recognise that use of force is a key tool in policing and that police have been entrusted with the power to use force in a range of circumstances. In return, the public must be assured that this power will always be exercised responsibly, reasonably and proportionately.” Twist said: “Our firearms officers, who put themselves in danger dealing with violent criminals across London on a daily basis, are highly trained specialists. They know and accept their actions will be highly scrutinised but no doubt they will be disappointed by today’s judgment. Our thoughts remain with all those who have been affected by this matter, in particular W80 and the family of Jermaine Baker.” Deborah Coles, the director of Inquest, said: “The police have consistently resisted scrutiny after the use of lethal force, and that has meant bereaved families being failed by the processes that should deliver accountability after the death of a loved one. Indeed, the court of appeal recognised that W80’s ‘submissions would prevent public scrutiny of the serious situation that arose in this case’. Allowing the police to act with impunity frustrates the prevention of misconduct and ultimately allows deaths to continue.” Ken Marsh, the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: “We will be reviewing the decision carefully. I now look to the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing to provide leadership and direction to our members as to what this means – so we can answer the concerns we all share.”