A police marksman 'used excessive force' when he shot dead an unarmed father-of-two in a foiled prison break, a misconduct hearing has been told.The experienced firearms officer, whose identity is protected and known only as W80, fatally shot Jermaine Baker at close range as he sat in the front passenger seat of a stolen Audi A6 near Wood Green Crown Court in north London on December 11 2015.Police suspected Mr Baker and other conspirators were about to free dangerous prisoner Izzet Eren - a member of the extremely violent Tottenham Turks gang - from a custody van en route to his sentencing hearing for firearms offences.W80 was part of the team who stopped Mr Baker, as he and others waited for the prison van to arrive.The officer said Mr Baker ignored his repeated demands to put his hands on the dashboard, and thought the 28-year-old was reaching for a weapon in his bag when he fatally opened fire at close range.A replica firearm was found inside the Audi, although Mr Baker was not holding a weapon at the time he was shot.Counter-terrorism specialist firearms officer W80 was never charged by the Crown Prosecution Service, although he is facing a gross misconduct hearing amid claims he used excessive force to contain Mr Baker, breaching the police's Standards of Professional Behaviour.Gerry Boyle KC, the lawyer representing at the Met on the first day of a misconduct hearing in west London today, said W80 used force 'that was not necessary and/or reasonable and/or proportionate, and said while the officer acted out of honest belief Mr Baker was reaching for a firearm, 'that belief was mistaken and not reasonable to believe'. Jermaine Baker was fatally shot by an armed police officer known by the cipher W80 whiletaking part in a foiled prison breakW80 faces being sacked if found guilty of gross misconduct.The hearing was told long-serving W80 went to at least two briefings in the days before the operation which 'expressly reminded him that the discharge of his firearm had to be a last resort'.But W80 later told investigators he was concerned Mr Baker was armed, and was worried about him moving his hands from his lap quickly, telling them he had 'always been taught that action beats reaction'.He said in interview: 'This quick movement of his hands and his failure to put his hands on the dash and to obviously surrender made me believe he was going for a gun.'I perceived an imminent threat to my life and the life of my colleagues.'I could not wait to see if he produced a gun because if I did by that time he would be in a position to shoot me or my colleagues.'I decided that I had no option other than to fire in order to achieve rapid incapacitation to prevent an imminent threat to life.'W80 said he was certain he ordered Mr Baker to put his hands on the dashboard, but admitted this was not reflected in audio footage from the Audi, which had been bugged by police. Mr Baker, 28, was a father-of-two from north London when he was killed in Wood Green nearly ten years ago In 2022, an inquiry ruled Mr Baker 'lawfully killed' by W80, but found police made numerous failures in the planning and execution of the operation.Inquiry chairman His Honour Clement Goldstone concluded that W80 'held an honest and genuine belief that Mr Baker was moving in order to reach for the firearm' when he shot him.'As such, W80 perceived that Mr Baker posed a lethal threat… I draw the conclusion, on the balance of probabilities, that the perceived threat from the actions and movement of Mr Baker was such that W80 honestly believed that it was reasonably necessary for him to shoot at Mr Baker.'Mr Goldstone said he 'found no evidence to support a finding that race played any part in Mr Baker's death'.He also said W80's 'overall credibility' as a witness 'remained largely intact'.The inquiry chairman highlighted a number of failures.This included that public safety should have been – but was not – the primary objective of the operation.It also found intelligence that the conspirators had only been able to source an imitation firearm was not passed on to W80 and others.It said officers had failed to consider any possible outcome other than an armed stop, and that they failed to engage with the Prison Service about the prisoner's escape risk or tell prison van staff of the planned jail break.Failures to keep notes of meetings showed 'an arrogant, dismissive attitude towards formality and a failure to appreciate the importance of accountability and maintaining an audit trail', the inquiry found.Margaret Smith, Mr Baker's mother, said her family could not accept the inquiry's findings and that her son had been raising his hands in surrender before he was shot.She said at the time: 'Jermaine was dead before he got in that car. His life was taken for no good reason. As I have always said, he should have gone to prison like the rest of the men in the car.'Tia Demetrio, the mother of Mr Baker's daughter Alexia, said the schoolgirl had grown up 'petrified' of police officers as a result of her father's death.