Police apologise to shooting victim’s family

BRITISH police have apologised to the family of Mark Duggan for the “distress” caused to them in the wake of his death, and offered to meet with them.

Anger over a lack of contact with the family after Duggan’s death on Thursday was the starting point for the riots that have blighted London.

Duggan’s fiancee, however, has accused Scotland Yard of a cover-up.

The 29-year-old father of four died after police opened fire in Tottenham, where they had stopped the minicab he was in to carry out an arrest as part of a pre-planned operation.

Semone Wilson insisted that her fiance was “not a gangster” and said she was disappointed with the police handling of the incident.

Referring to the shooting of Duggan, 29, on Thursday, she went on: “Something went wrong and to me it seems like they’re trying to cover it up because, surely, they should have some answers by now.

“I’ve got so many questions that I’ve asked them and they’ve given me nothing.

“Was he dragged out of the cab? If he had a gun in his hand, why didn’t they shoot his hand to disarm him, why did they shoot him in the chest?

“They’ve confirmed to me it was two shots from the police officer and one hit Mark in the chest.

“If he was under surveillance, then that’s one answer they should give me — why was he under surveillance? Just let me know that. Give me something.”

Wilson said she was disappointed the police did not contact r Duggan’s parents about his death.

Scotland Yard said lessons need to be learned by police and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

A police spokesman said: “We are very sorry for the distress that has been caused to the family of Mark Duggan, especially because of the way in which his parents became aware of his death. It is always challenging when the police service has to ensure that an investigation is totally independent of them in order to sustain public confidence, and on occasion errors then occur in the handover.

“Although immediate members of his family were told of Mr Duggan’s death, we accept that we did not inform his parents and it is clear that there are lessons that can be learned both by the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] and the IPCC in this case.”

Ballistic test results after the shooting of Mr Duggan are due to be published within the next 24 hours.

The police watchdog is working with forensic officers amid speculation that a bullet found lodged in a police radio was police issue.

The IPCC has so far refused to comment on reports in The Guardian newspaper that initial tests suggest the bullet belonged to Scotland Yard.