Family pay tribute to 'much-loved' father Jermaine Baker after fatal police shooting in Wood Green

'Much-loved': Jermaine Baker
Robin de Peyer19 December 2015
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The family of a young father who was shot dead by police today paid tribute to him.

Jermaine Baker, 28, was killed by armed officers during an alleged attempt to spring two convicts from a prison van near Wood Green crown court last Friday.

Tottenham MP David Lammy warned the killing had fuelled “pain and anger” in the community amid rumours Mr Baker was asleep in his car when he was shot.

A police officer has been arrested and interviewed under caution as watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission investigates.

In a statement issued through Bhatt Murphy solicitors, Mr Baker’s family said: “Those who knew and loved Jermaine will keep him in their hearts and minds as they remember him. Many of those people have already contacted us and shared their memories; we are grateful for their support and kind words.

"There has also been much speculation about the events leading to Jermaine's death. As his family we are of course anxious to find out the truth, and we look to the IPCC to carry out a full, thorough and prompt investigation. We would ask anyone with any information to contact the IPCC.

"At this time, we as a family are still processing the passing of a much loved son, father, brother, grandson, cousin, nephew, uncle, partner and friend. Please give us the time and privacy to grieve."

The IPCC has launched a criminal homicide investigation into the death, which could see the police officer face charges. The officer was suspended from duty on Wednesday.

IPCC Commissioner Cindy Butts said: “The evidence we have at this stage does not mean that the officer definitively committed a criminal act and nor does it mean he will necessarily be charged with a criminal offence."

No relevant CCTV has been identified and no body-worn police cameras filmed the incident.

Ms Butts said the evidence was that Mr Baker was in a black Audi when he was shot.

She added: "In that car was what appears to be a non-police issue firearm. Further forensic examination will take place on the non-police issue firearm, and the firearm that was discharged by the police officer."

Chief Superintendent Victor Olisa, the Haringey borough commander, said there had been reports that Mr Baker was a gangster - but their research did not indicate that he was.

A close friend of Mr Baker told the meeting: "He was not a gangster whatsoever. I've been told that he was sleeping in his car. Police officers had information that was not 100 per cent that he was going to do it - you took an innocent man away."

Ms Butts said: "We do not know whether he was or was not asleep."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in