This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/11/mark-duggan-vigil-anger-restraint

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Anger and restraint at Mark Duggan's vigil Mark Duggan vigil: anger and restraint
(about 3 hours later)
It ended in the peaceful manner that the family had begged for, but the mood was fiery and the rhetoric angry. The shutters were down on Tottenham police station for the day and the officers who work there were employing softly-softly tactics, deployed out of plain sight, while police vans were parked at a careful distance down side streets.It ended in the peaceful manner that the family had begged for, but the mood was fiery and the rhetoric angry. The shutters were down on Tottenham police station for the day and the officers who work there were employing softly-softly tactics, deployed out of plain sight, while police vans were parked at a careful distance down side streets.
Many members of the media, accused of being complicit in a misinformation and smear campaign, were asked to remain penned behind police tape. Then 12 doves, symbolising peace, were released into the north London streets.Many members of the media, accused of being complicit in a misinformation and smear campaign, were asked to remain penned behind police tape. Then 12 doves, symbolising peace, were released into the north London streets.
Saturday's vigil for Mark Duggan, the 29-year-old killed by police in a shooting that sparked off the riots of August 2011, attracted a bigger crowd than the family said they had expected.Saturday's vigil for Mark Duggan, the 29-year-old killed by police in a shooting that sparked off the riots of August 2011, attracted a bigger crowd than the family said they had expected.
More than 300 people gathered in the cold outside the police station where, they were told, 15 years earlier to the day, a crowd had also assembled to protest at the death of Roger Sylvester, a man from Tottenham with mental illness who was unlawfully killed by six police officers who were trying to restrain him.More than 300 people gathered in the cold outside the police station where, they were told, 15 years earlier to the day, a crowd had also assembled to protest at the death of Roger Sylvester, a man from Tottenham with mental illness who was unlawfully killed by six police officers who were trying to restrain him.
In the aftermath of Wednesday's inquest into Duggan's death, which saw a verdict of "lawful killing" delivered by the jury, emotions were raw. An undercurrent of barely suppressed anger ran through many of the speeches at the vigil, while chants calling the police "murderers" broke out every so often.In the aftermath of Wednesday's inquest into Duggan's death, which saw a verdict of "lawful killing" delivered by the jury, emotions were raw. An undercurrent of barely suppressed anger ran through many of the speeches at the vigil, while chants calling the police "murderers" broke out every so often.
Martha Rigg, the sister of Sean Rigg, a mentally ill black man who died in police custody in 2008 in Brixton, was among the speakers, listened to by several of Duggan's six children, his mother Pam, who looked drawn and pained, and his aunt Carole. Local MP David Lammy did not attend – an absence greeted with cries of "shame" from the crowd. Marcia Rigg, the sister of Sean Rigg, a mentally ill black man who died in police custody in 2008 in Brixton, was among the speakers, listened to by several of Duggan's six children, his mother Pam, who looked drawn and pained, and his aunt Carole. Local MP David Lammy did not attend – an absence greeted with cries of "shame" from the crowd.
The family will meet officials from the Independent Police Complaints Commission on Tuesday to demand that alleged "inconsistencies" in the evidence provided by officers at the inquest are fully reinvestigated.The family will meet officials from the Independent Police Complaints Commission on Tuesday to demand that alleged "inconsistencies" in the evidence provided by officers at the inquest are fully reinvestigated.
The shock of the verdict had been "like losing Mark all over again", said Carole Duggan, with whom Mark lived for much of his teenage years. "The family is so quiet at the moment: we're mourning again, the children. His brothers, his sisters, they've had the stuffing knocked right out of them. We have been trying to hold this together for two-and-a-half years and we're not getting it and then the verdict we did get does not make sense. It's like there's a conspiracy against us.The shock of the verdict had been "like losing Mark all over again", said Carole Duggan, with whom Mark lived for much of his teenage years. "The family is so quiet at the moment: we're mourning again, the children. His brothers, his sisters, they've had the stuffing knocked right out of them. We have been trying to hold this together for two-and-a-half years and we're not getting it and then the verdict we did get does not make sense. It's like there's a conspiracy against us.
"The vigil is the start – talking to other people who have lost loved ones. The only way to go is through campaigning: we have taken advice from other people who have lost members of their family, deaths in custody. To keep Mark's name alive we are not going away. We are not going to fight with violence, but there is a struggle that we are going to go through for as many years as it takes to get justice and try and give Mark's children a future. We are not going to be swept under the carpet.""The vigil is the start – talking to other people who have lost loved ones. The only way to go is through campaigning: we have taken advice from other people who have lost members of their family, deaths in custody. To keep Mark's name alive we are not going away. We are not going to fight with violence, but there is a struggle that we are going to go through for as many years as it takes to get justice and try and give Mark's children a future. We are not going to be swept under the carpet."
But she defended the jury members, whom she said had had a very difficult task. "The jury were put in such a difficult situation. It was tiring and draining for them as it was for us . "This is draining for us as a family. We expected a result that we didn't get, it's completely deflated us. Even if we didn't get 'unlawful killing', we expected an open verdict because it was a difficult and complex case for the jury.But she defended the jury members, whom she said had had a very difficult task. "The jury were put in such a difficult situation. It was tiring and draining for them as it was for us . "This is draining for us as a family. We expected a result that we didn't get, it's completely deflated us. Even if we didn't get 'unlawful killing', we expected an open verdict because it was a difficult and complex case for the jury.
"It is the IPCC's responsibility: it was their lack of an investigation that brought the jury to this conclusion. It's all contradictory, some of the officers' accounts. I'm not blaming the jury for their conclusions because they only had the evidence given to them to deal with.""It is the IPCC's responsibility: it was their lack of an investigation that brought the jury to this conclusion. It's all contradictory, some of the officers' accounts. I'm not blaming the jury for their conclusions because they only had the evidence given to them to deal with."
Conciliatory overtures by police are being rejected as too little too late. "The way we've been treated is absolutely disgusting," said Carole Duggan. "The police are bending over backwards to try to talk to us now, but they didn't want to talk to us when they murdered Mark. It took the police over two weeks to decide if they were responsible.Conciliatory overtures by police are being rejected as too little too late. "The way we've been treated is absolutely disgusting," said Carole Duggan. "The police are bending over backwards to try to talk to us now, but they didn't want to talk to us when they murdered Mark. It took the police over two weeks to decide if they were responsible.
"It's the job of the police to deliver the death message but they didn't do that and they didn't apologise. They took the stance that what they did was right; they didn't consider my family at all. It's too late now.""It's the job of the police to deliver the death message but they didn't do that and they didn't apologise. They took the stance that what they did was right; they didn't consider my family at all. It's too late now."
Her deepest anger was reserved for those she accused of slurs and lies about her family. "The smear campaign began after the shooting of Mark and has been sustained by parts of the media and the police since, as in the claim that Mark 'came from a gangster family'.Her deepest anger was reserved for those she accused of slurs and lies about her family. "The smear campaign began after the shooting of Mark and has been sustained by parts of the media and the police since, as in the claim that Mark 'came from a gangster family'.
"Our family are being accused of threatening the jury; the media are obsessed with what we are going to do … We did not start the uprising in 2011 but it's like we're being punished for that.""Our family are being accused of threatening the jury; the media are obsessed with what we are going to do … We did not start the uprising in 2011 but it's like we're being punished for that."
Among the others present, the mood was angry but not violent. Aliyah Maersk, 40, a reggae singer from Enfield Lock, who wrote the song Awake, a passionate protest at police brutalitysaid: "If someone is in police custody there is a protocol. If you know someone is not holding a gun, you arrest them. You don't execute them. They executed Mark."Among the others present, the mood was angry but not violent. Aliyah Maersk, 40, a reggae singer from Enfield Lock, who wrote the song Awake, a passionate protest at police brutalitysaid: "If someone is in police custody there is a protocol. If you know someone is not holding a gun, you arrest them. You don't execute them. They executed Mark."
Tanya, 26, from Tottenham, spoke for most of those attending the vigil when she said: "The inquest verdict doesn't make sense. No one believes the verdict is the truth."Tanya, 26, from Tottenham, spoke for most of those attending the vigil when she said: "The inquest verdict doesn't make sense. No one believes the verdict is the truth."
Rev Nims Obunge, the pastor who presided at Duggan's funeral, said he bitterly regretted having had to bury all those killed by guns in the community.Rev Nims Obunge, the pastor who presided at Duggan's funeral, said he bitterly regretted having had to bury all those killed by guns in the community.
The Duggan family have been praised for their calls for restraint in the community at this time. Police fears that violence might erupt at the vigil proved to be unfounded.The Duggan family have been praised for their calls for restraint in the community at this time. Police fears that violence might erupt at the vigil proved to be unfounded.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.