There is no CCTV or police body camera footage currently known to exist after the shooting of a man by police in Wood Green last week.
A police officer has been arrested over the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Tottenham man Jermaine Baker on Bracknell Close behind Wood Green Crown Court on Friday, 11 December. It was confirmed that Mr Baker was shot while sat in a car, and that there was a gun in the car at the same time.
The CCTV footage is still being searched.
The details were released at a fiery community meeting at Tottenham Town Hall on Thursday night.
There was slight tension beforehand – one man being overheard to say “we’re here to put some heat on their backsides” – but this boiled over in an angry and emotional two-hour meeting.
Any reference to Mr Baker’s death was greeted with calls of “murder”, which grew more vociferous as the meeting went on.
The details of CCTV and the arrest were confirmed in a statement read by Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) commissioner Cindy Butts to the meeting.
Ms Butts said in her statement: “[On Friday] we were informed by the Metropolitan Police and our investigators were immediately sent to the scene.
“At the scene was a black Audi. The evidence suggests that Mr Baker was in this car when he was shot. In that car was what appears to be a non-police issue firearm.
“I am not able to provide information about whereabouts in the car the non-police issue firearm was found or where Mr Baker was sat. These questions are the focus of our investigation
“A CCTV trawl has been undertaken and at this stage no relevant CCTV has been identified. No Body worn cameras have captured the incident.
“I am aware of the concerns and frustrations the community have on this issue and would like to reiterate that we the IPCC support the widest possible use of body worn video.
“This afternoon a firearms officer has been arrested and interviewed under caution. All the other significant firearms officers have provided detailed statements as is normal practice.
“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.”
Marcia Rigg, whose brother Sean Rigg died in police custody in Brixton in August 2008, spoke from the audience and criticised the lack of clear CCTV of the shooting
Helen King, assistant commissioner of the Met Police, was one of seven speakers at the meeting.
She was greeted with an angry response whenever she spoke, and was heckled with calls of ‘liar’ and ‘terrorist’.
She said: “We in the Met Police want to express our thoughts and sympathies are with Jermaine Baker’s family.
“We want to listen, we know we have not always been here to listen to you.
“Our armed officers recognise they need to work within the law – it is in all our benefits that the armed officers have all our support in the split second decisions they make.
“When we authorise firearms it is because we believe we have evidence that there is a threat.”
She said she wanted all officers to have body cameras, and that between March and December 22,000 camera would be rolled out for use. These would only be switched on for operations.
Stafford Scott of activist group Tottenham Rights was another of the main speakers. He called on the community to learn from the shooting of Mark Duggan and the aftermath, as well as calling out the national media as “rats” for inaccurate reporting.
Mr Scott said: “We’ve had a horrific experience. We’ve called this meeting because we have learned from the experience of 2011. This time around there has been some learning.
“The Met Police invited us in, they did not have to be asked. The best thing they could do now is create an opportunity for the community to speak, and to ensure that we have a transparent and robust process that gives us answers, not one that takes four or five years.
“Haringey has been subjected to scurrilous reporting by scurrilous reporters – they are rats. They have made up gangs that don’t exist. Hopefully we can have a meeting where facts are shared in the proper manner.”
At the meeting, Haringey Police Borough Commander Victor Olisa said that there was no evidence that Mr Baker was a gang member. He also said he had been fully informed of the nature of the operation taking place in his borough.
He said: “When an operation happens, they tell me, so that when something goes wrong I can explain that to the community.
“When they go wrong I am held accountable. Those officers who carry out the operation are also held accountable.”
At times however the meeting descended into farce and argument, with several people grabbing the microphone intended for audience questions and either asking their own unsolicited questions, or shouting abuse at the panel.
At the end when Ms Butts made her closing statement, there was a mass walkout with less than half the room staying to hear what she had to say.
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