Mark Duggan funeral expected to draw large crowd

Man whose fatal shooting by police sparked Tottenham riots will be buried in north London Thousands of people are expected to gather in north London this morning for the funeral of Mark Duggan , the man whose fatal shooting by police sparked riots which spread around England. The body of the 29-year-old father of four, who died on 4 August , will be taken from his parents’ house in Tottenham, through the Broadwater Farm estate, where he grew up, to a church in Wood Green. A private service will be followed by the burial in Wood Green. A reception will be held at Broadwater Farm. Duggan’s family remain highly critical of police, over both the events which left him with a gunshot wound to the chest and what they say was subsequent misinformation and lack of communication from Scotland Yard and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating the incident. The Tottenham MP, David Lammy, has criticised the IPCC for leaving Duggan’s family “floundering” and failing to make it clear to local people that it was independent from the police. Large numbers of police remain on duty in the wake of the riots, but the presence at the funeral will be low-key and involve local officers. “We have met with Mr Duggan’s parents,” a police spokesman said. “In line with the family’s wishes, the policing will reflect the family’s desire for a local, peaceful and dignified funeral.” The family has requested that the media stay outside the church and that they are left in peace. Duggan was a passenger in a minicab which was stopped by police near Tottenham Hale tube station when he was shot. An official account initially suggested Duggan had fired at an officer before he was shot, but ballistic tests showed that the two bullets which were fired – one which killed Duggan and one which lodged in an officer’s radio – were both police issue. Another weapon, a blank-firing pistol which had been converted to use live rounds, was recovered near the scene of the shooting. A march to protest at the death escalated into outbreaks of trouble in Tottenham and Wood Green, which spread into four days of serious riots in many locations around England. An inquest into Duggan’s death at north London coroners court heard he died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. Mark Duggan Police UK riots Peter Walker guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 9, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.