Mark Duggan's family set to 'have their say on police firearms procedure' following inquest

 
Distraught: Mark Duggan's brother, Marlon, mother Pamela and aunt Carol, after the verdict
Staff|Agency12 January 2014

The family of Mark Duggan will be invited to help shape police firearms procedure in a "unique" move by the coroner who oversaw the inquest following his death.

Senior circuit judge Keith Cutler told The Mail on Sunday he will ask the family their opinions on the "training of officers and preparation for operations".

Recommendations regarding the way police deal with situations involving firearms would be made to the Secretary of State by mid-February, he added.

He said: "Normally I would hide away and come to my own conclusions about these recommendations but this has been a highly charged and high- profile case. I have wanted to have transparency for all the parties and the public.

Tribute: Mark Duggan's mother Pam prepares to release a white dove at a vigil in his memory yesterday (Picture: PA)
PA

"In that spirit I am taking the unusual, perhaps unique, step of inviting submissions from all the interested parties including the Duggan family. I'll wait to receive all the views before sitting down and carefully considering any recommendations that need to be made."

The judge also defended his decision to hold a controversial 20-second silence for Mr Duggan at the start of the inquest last September.

He told the newspaper he intended the silence to be "healing" for those involved but admitted it was "controversial".

He said: "I thought that a few moments' reflection at the start of the inquest might be quite healing.

"I know it was controversial, and I know the police were bristling about it and sections of the media were very critical, but I believe that Mark Duggan's death led to a great deal of unrest."

He added: "Whatever you think of him as an individual, Mark Duggan was somebody's son. No one wanted him to die."

Killed: Mark Duggan, who was shot dead in a police operation which sparked the riots of 2011

His comments came after relatives of Mr Duggan proclaimed "we are not a gangster family" at a peaceful vigil outside Tottenham police station.

Around 500 protesters gathered outside the three-storey building in north London yesterday afternoon, in protest of the jury's verdict that the 29-year-old was lawfully killed by police.

Mr Duggan's death at the hands of a Metropolitan Police marksman sparked riots across the country in 2011.

His mother, Pamela, aunt, Carole, and brother, Marlon, were joined by crowds carrying placards which read: "Justice for Mark Duggan."

They held a minute's silence before chanting "No justice, no peace" and "Who are the murderers? Police are the murderers".

Carole Duggan told protesters the media was to blame for portraying her nephew as a gangster.

She said: "Mark was not a gangster, the media sustained a campaign against him.

"We're just an ordinary family."

Protesters booed local Labour MP David Lammy for not attending.

Earlier in the day, Mr Lammy had warned anyone intending to cause trouble to stay away.

As the protest came to an end, 20 white doves were released in an act of tribute.

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