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| Mark Duggan shooting: armed officers cleared of wrongdoing | Mark Duggan shooting: armed officers cleared of wrongdoing |
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| The police watchdog has cleared armed officers of any wrongdoing in the killing of Mark Duggan, saying it was likely that he was in the process of throwing away a handgun when he was shot. | |
| In a 500-page report, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) called for urgent improvements in the accountability of undercover firearms operations after finding that a lack of audio or video material “made it difficult, and on occasions impossible, to know with absolute certainty what happened”. | |
| Following a three-and-a-half-year investigation into the killing of Duggan, 29, it recommended that all radio communications taking place during such operations should be recorded and covert armed response vehicles ought to be fitted with in-car data recording systems. | |
| The suspected member of the Tottenham Man Dem gang was shot twice on 4 August 2011 in Tottenham, north London, after 11 specialist firearms officers stopped the minicab he was in on suspicion that he had an illegal firearm. While no gun was found on him, a handgun in a sock was discovered on grassland about four metres (14ft) from his body. | The suspected member of the Tottenham Man Dem gang was shot twice on 4 August 2011 in Tottenham, north London, after 11 specialist firearms officers stopped the minicab he was in on suspicion that he had an illegal firearm. While no gun was found on him, a handgun in a sock was discovered on grassland about four metres (14ft) from his body. |
| His death sparked the worst riots of recent times across cities and towns in England. | His death sparked the worst riots of recent times across cities and towns in England. |
| An inquest jury returned a lawful killing verdict in January 2014, sparking outrage from his family, after hearing that the police marksman, who fired the two bullets in rapid succession, which hit Duggan in the upper chest and right arm, had the honestly held belief he was an “imminent threat to life”. | An inquest jury returned a lawful killing verdict in January 2014, sparking outrage from his family, after hearing that the police marksman, who fired the two bullets in rapid succession, which hit Duggan in the upper chest and right arm, had the honestly held belief he was an “imminent threat to life”. |
| A majority of jurors said the gun had been discarded by Duggan before he was shot. The IPCC said the most “plausible” explanation for the location of the gun was that Duggan “was in the process of throwing it to his right as he was shot”. | A majority of jurors said the gun had been discarded by Duggan before he was shot. The IPCC said the most “plausible” explanation for the location of the gun was that Duggan “was in the process of throwing it to his right as he was shot”. |
| The officer, known only as V53, has said he shouted “armed police” and saw Duggan holding an object in his right hand, which he believed to be a gun, and his arm begin to move. | The officer, known only as V53, has said he shouted “armed police” and saw Duggan holding an object in his right hand, which he believed to be a gun, and his arm begin to move. |
| The IPCC said its investigation had no evidence, which sufficiently undermines the accounts provided by V53 in his statements and the evidence at the inquest. But he had refused to be interviewed by the IPCC, instead providing a statement. The report said: “The lack of an open face-to-face dialogue limits the extent to which the IPCC can effectively probe and verify the detail of his account.” However, it added, “the investigation has not obtained any reliable evidence to undermine V53’s account”. | The IPCC said its investigation had no evidence, which sufficiently undermines the accounts provided by V53 in his statements and the evidence at the inquest. But he had refused to be interviewed by the IPCC, instead providing a statement. The report said: “The lack of an open face-to-face dialogue limits the extent to which the IPCC can effectively probe and verify the detail of his account.” However, it added, “the investigation has not obtained any reliable evidence to undermine V53’s account”. |
| The report concluded there was “no credible evidence” to uphold complaints by Duggan’s family that police had relocated the firearm in the sock, that officer V53 did not fire live shots in the belief Duggan was pointing a firearm at him, and that he did not use lawful force. | The report concluded there was “no credible evidence” to uphold complaints by Duggan’s family that police had relocated the firearm in the sock, that officer V53 did not fire live shots in the belief Duggan was pointing a firearm at him, and that he did not use lawful force. |
| Duggan’s mother, Pam, 56, said: “This report is another slap in the face for all the family. It’s a waste of paper and a waste of ink.” | Duggan’s mother, Pam, 56, said: “This report is another slap in the face for all the family. It’s a waste of paper and a waste of ink.” |
| She added: “Yet again we’ve been let down.” The family had hoped “the IPCC would say the shooting could have been avoided” and it was the “latest in a long line of disappointments”, she said. | She added: “Yet again we’ve been let down.” The family had hoped “the IPCC would say the shooting could have been avoided” and it was the “latest in a long line of disappointments”, she said. |
| In a further statement, the Duggan family said the report “confirms their belief that the IPCC are unfit for purpose”. | In a further statement, the Duggan family said the report “confirms their belief that the IPCC are unfit for purpose”. |
| The family described the watchdog’s conduct as “a chronicle of inefficiency and incompetence”. They criticised the investigation for being “far from robust about a number of matters” and called on the IPCC to produce a “supplementary report” to address a number of their concerns. | The family described the watchdog’s conduct as “a chronicle of inefficiency and incompetence”. They criticised the investigation for being “far from robust about a number of matters” and called on the IPCC to produce a “supplementary report” to address a number of their concerns. |
| The IPCC’s report said there was “insufficient evidence” to conclude if officers did – or did not – shout the warning “armed police” prior to the fatal shots, but evidence did suggest they attempted to tell Duggan that they required him to stop after they got out of their vehicles, it said. | The IPCC’s report said there was “insufficient evidence” to conclude if officers did – or did not – shout the warning “armed police” prior to the fatal shots, but evidence did suggest they attempted to tell Duggan that they required him to stop after they got out of their vehicles, it said. |
| It noted that C019 officers were “located within a room and conferred” when completing their statements three days after the shooting. While putting officers together in one room was “inadvisable”, it said, after critical assessment of the officers’ evidence it did not appear to have undermined the credibility of their evidence in this case. | It noted that C019 officers were “located within a room and conferred” when completing their statements three days after the shooting. While putting officers together in one room was “inadvisable”, it said, after critical assessment of the officers’ evidence it did not appear to have undermined the credibility of their evidence in this case. |
| Duggan was shot after police launched Operation Dibri in 2009 in response to rising tensions between organised criminal networks in north London. In the days before his death, Scotland Yard and the now-defunct Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) had intelligence that he was about to receive a gun from another man, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, and launched an armed surveillance operation. Hutchinson-Foster has since been found guilty of supplying a gun to Duggan. | Duggan was shot after police launched Operation Dibri in 2009 in response to rising tensions between organised criminal networks in north London. In the days before his death, Scotland Yard and the now-defunct Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) had intelligence that he was about to receive a gun from another man, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, and launched an armed surveillance operation. Hutchinson-Foster has since been found guilty of supplying a gun to Duggan. |
| The IPCC said the police intelligence justified the surveillance operation on Duggan as officers did not know where the weapon controlled by Hutchinson-Foster was being stored. | The IPCC said the police intelligence justified the surveillance operation on Duggan as officers did not know where the weapon controlled by Hutchinson-Foster was being stored. |
| It was a “logical and legitimate” decision to follow Duggan when he took a minicab to Leyton, east London, where Hutchinson-Foster is said to have handed him a shoebox containing the BBM Bruni firearm in a black sock, before the cab headed towards Tottenham. | It was a “logical and legitimate” decision to follow Duggan when he took a minicab to Leyton, east London, where Hutchinson-Foster is said to have handed him a shoebox containing the BBM Bruni firearm in a black sock, before the cab headed towards Tottenham. |
| The police’s hard stop of the taxi, on Ferry Lane, Tottenham, was at an “appropriate location”, it said. Duggan was shot around four seconds after the minicab was stopped and he had got out of the vehicle. | The police’s hard stop of the taxi, on Ferry Lane, Tottenham, was at an “appropriate location”, it said. Duggan was shot around four seconds after the minicab was stopped and he had got out of the vehicle. |
| Rachel Cerfontyne, the IPCC deputy chair, said the death has had “huge ramifications for the Tottenham community and beyond”. She said that, if implemented, the recommendations would “not only shorten the investigative process, they would provide investigators with immediate, accurate and incontrovertible evidence, which would be of benefit to all”. | Rachel Cerfontyne, the IPCC deputy chair, said the death has had “huge ramifications for the Tottenham community and beyond”. She said that, if implemented, the recommendations would “not only shorten the investigative process, they would provide investigators with immediate, accurate and incontrovertible evidence, which would be of benefit to all”. |
| The Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Patricia Gallan said: “It may be almost four years since the death of Mark Duggan, but I do not underestimate the impact his death still has on his family, the community and the officers involved.” | The Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Patricia Gallan said: “It may be almost four years since the death of Mark Duggan, but I do not underestimate the impact his death still has on his family, the community and the officers involved.” |
| She said the IPCC had found no wrongdoing or misconduct for any of the armed officers involved in the operation and the recommendations would “be carefully reviewed by both ourselves and the Association of Chief Police Officers”. | She said the IPCC had found no wrongdoing or misconduct for any of the armed officers involved in the operation and the recommendations would “be carefully reviewed by both ourselves and the Association of Chief Police Officers”. |
| Community activist Stafford Scott said “we are very disappointed” and called for a public inquiry into why police did not remove the gun from the streets when its existence was first reported to them. | Community activist Stafford Scott said “we are very disappointed” and called for a public inquiry into why police did not remove the gun from the streets when its existence was first reported to them. |