Mark Duggan was shot twice by police after the taxi he was travelling in what stopped by police officers in Tottenham, North London. They claimed he was holding a gun, which was later found on a grassed area around 14ft from the taxi.
His death was cited as the cause for the London riots, which saw five people die and homes vandalised and shops looted at the cost of £200 million.
Last year, a jury in the inquest into Mark’s death recorded that he had been “lawfully killed” by officers – a decision that greatly upset the father-of-two’s family, including his mother Pamela and girlfriend Precious Douaihy.
And today, after a three and a half year investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), the officers involved in the shooting have been cleared of any wrongdoing. The report also concluded it was likely Mark was in the process of throwing away a gun when he was shot.
However, the report also stated improvement was needed, in terms of police accountability, after they admitted it was hard to determine the exact events of that day due to the lack of audio or video material available.
IPCC Deputy Chair, Rachel Cerfontyne said earlier: “This death has had huge ramifications for the Tottenham community and beyond.
“This has meant all of those directly involved, the family and police officers have had to endure a huge amount of public scrutiny. If implemented, my 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 IPCC’s full report is set to be released tomorrow.