MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Police acted lawfully when they shot a man whose death triggered London's 2011 rioting
Mark Duggan's family told media they would not give up the case. British inquest found that police acted lawfully when they shot and killed a man whose death sparked a wave of rioting in 2011 in the worst civil unrest in the country in decades. Mark Duggan, 29, died after he was shot by police who suspected he was armed at the time.
Although all 10 people on the jury said on Wednesday they believed that Duggan had a gun with him before the taxi he was travelling in was stopped by police officers, eight said he did not have the gun in his hand when he was shot.
Nevertheless, eight jurors ruled that the killing of Duggan was lawful. The remaining two said there was not enough evidence for a clear ruling either way. Duggan's family told media they would not give up the case.
“He was executed and we still believe that and we are going to fight, until we have no breath in our body, for justice,” said Carole Duggan, an aunt of the dead man.
A senior officer of London's Metropolitan police expressed sympathy for Duggan's family.
“But the task our officers face in making split-second decision when confronting armed criminals means there is a risk - a very small risk - that this will happen,” Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley told reporters as protesters yelled “murderer”.
The killing of Duggan prompted protests in August 2011 in the streets of Tottenham, a deprived district in north London, that escalated into rioting and looting which quickly spread to elsewhere in London and other British cities.
Prime Minister David Cameron blamed gangs and criminal behavior for the violence, but critics said government austerity measures that squeezed the poor and a breakdown in police and community relations in Tottenham were to blame.
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Read all commentsNo mention of Duggan's gang affiliations not the gun found metres away.
Jan 09th, 2014 - 10:15 am 0Any loss of life is tragic, but this man was part of the criminal world of drugs and guns. What was he going to do with the gun he had in the taxi, was there a chance he could have used it on another civilian and 'executed them'.
Jan 09th, 2014 - 10:16 am 0Where did his mother think he got his money from, understandably she views him with rose tinted glasses, but she should take a good hard look at herself and the way she brought up her son.
And to those people that rioted on his behalf who ruined the livelihoods of entire families and 3 people were killed, in support of a gun carrying thug and criminal, they must be very proud of themselves.
I wonder how many shop will be destroy, how many tennagers will day and how many buldings will burn in the new saga of the UK riots.
Jan 09th, 2014 - 10:59 am 0A unnarmed guy executed in the middle of the street.
What a joke of a Island.
I told you guys, that is what happend when you procreate with your family members.
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