Mark Duggan: IPCC clears armed police of wrongdoing

The police officers who shot and killed 29-year-old Tottenham resident Mark Duggan, sparking the London riots in 2011, have been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Following a three-and-a-half-year investigation, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it had found "no indication of misconduct for any armed officer involved".

Duggan was shot by a Metropolitan Police officer on 4 August 2011 in Tottenham, London, during a pre-planned operation. A gun was found at the scene, around 14ft from his body.

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The IPCC has previously apologised to Duggan's family for "wrongly" telling the media at the time that he had fired at police before he was shot.

Last year, an inquest jury found Duggan had been lawfully killed, but said he did not have a gun in his hand when he was shot.

Yesterday's 499-page report found "no credible evidence" to suggest the weapon was planted. "It is not possible to be certain how the gun got there, but the evidence indicates the most plausible explanation is that Mr Duggan was in the process of throwing the weapon when he was shot," said the report.

Evidence from one eye witness, claiming that Duggan was surrendering with his arms raised at the time he was shot, was also found to be incompatible with findings from the autopsy and forensic examination of Duggan's clothing.

The Duggan family has released a statement to say that the report "confirms their belief that the IPCC are unfit for purpose". It described the watchdog's conduct as "a chronicle of inefficiency and incompetence".

Rachel Cerfontyne, the IPCC's deputy chair, said it had been a "complex and thorough" investigation, which had examined more than 1,200 documents, 500 witness statements and 340 exhibits.

However, she said that a lack of video or audio material had made it "difficult" and "on occasions impossible" to know with absolute certainty what happened and recommended that national policing bodies look into recording communications during covert operations.

The Metropolitan Police said the recommendations would be carefully reviewed.