Mark Duggan's mother says she is still waiting for answers about shooting:
Pam Duggan says lack of information, a year after the death that sparked riots, 'makes me think police have something to hide'
The family of Mark Duggan say that as the first anniversary of his death approaches they have still received no information about why he was shot dead by police.
After the fatal shooting on 4 August last year there were four days of rioting across England.
Duggan's mother, Pam, said she believed she was not getting answers because the police were hiding something: "Why aren't they giving us the information?
"It makes me think the police have something to hide. I don't like to use the word 'killed' in relation to what the police did to Mark. I say that he was assassinated by the police. I'd like to see the police officer who killed Mark get sentenced like any other human being. That police officer shot him in cold blood."
She added: "I don't think the police should carry guns at all. They're trigger happy.
"It keeps playing on my mind that Mark was on his own and was surrounded by all those officers. How must he have felt in his final moments. It makes me cry every time I think about it."
Her grief was compounded by the recent death from cancer of her partner of 33 years, Bruno Hall, Mark's father.
"In the space of 11 months I have buried my son and my partner. The first one was shot dead by the police, the second died of cancer – and a broken heart," she said.
"After Mark's shooting Bruno wouldn't talk about it. He just kept repeating over and over again until he died, 'The police killed my son, all I want is justice for my son.' He used to sit and look at photos of Mark and his eyes would well up. Mark's shooting didn't cause Bruno's cancer but it certainly didn't help. Mark's death broke him to pieces. When the police shot Mark they took a big part of Bruno too. Bruno has been buried next to Mark and my only comfort is that the two of them are together now."
Although she and other family members have had several meetings with IPCC officials Pam Duggan is frustrated that they have not provided answers to key questions.
"I keep asking why there were 31 police officers surrounding Mark and why he was shot twice. They tell me they can't answer those questions," she said.
The IPCC came under fire from the north London coroner, Andrew Walker, in June at a pre-inquest review, for refusing to hand over material relating to their investigation into the shooting. Walker ordered the IPCC to hand over material within 28 days or face being in contempt of court.
An IPCC spokeswoman said: "Since the pre-inquest review on 28 June, there has been an ongoing dialogue between the IPCC and Mr Walker, the coroner. Mr Walker attended the IPCC's London office in the week commencing 23 July to view some of the footage in the IPCC's possession and also met the commissioner overseeing the case, Rachel Cerfontyne. The IPCC has provided Mr Walker with further material this week."
The IPCC spokeswoman added that the organisation could not answer Pam Duggan's questions about the number of officers involved in the incident and the number of shots fired as the issues were part of the IPCC's ongoing investigation.
"Bruno was hoping for some closure about Mark's shooting but the last development before he died was the pre-inquest review where the IPCC failed to hand over material to the coroner," said Duggan. "Bruno did not get the closure he was hoping for."
She said that losing two of the people she loved dearly in the space of 11 months made it very hard for her to keep going.
"I miss them both so much. Mark was a peacemaker. He had a soft heart and he loved life. I have to be strong for the sake of Mark's children, my grandchildren, and the rest of my family. But my life has changed so much since the police shot Mark. Sometimes I'm scared to go out. And if I see a police car driving down the street my whole body starts to shake. I think that the officer who killed Mark could be in that car or that they've got guns and might do to someone else what they did to Mark.
"We used to have big family celebrations at Christmas with a nice tree. But I couldn't put a tree up last Christmas. I spent the day at the cemetery instead."
The family's lawyer Marcia Willis Stewart said: "One year after the shooting the Duggan family still know nothing about the circumstances of their son's death. It is important that a full inquest with a jury is held into this case."
The Metropolitan police declined to comment on Pam Duggan's comments.
Large numbers of people are expected to attend a service in memory of Mark Duggan in Tottenham on Sunday.
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Pam Duggan says lack of information, a year after the death that sparked riots, 'makes me think police have something to hide'
The family of Mark Duggan say that as the first anniversary of his death approaches they have still received no information about why he was shot dead by police.
After the fatal shooting on 4 August last year there were four days of rioting across England.
Duggan's mother, Pam, said she believed she was not getting answers because the police were hiding something: "Why aren't they giving us the information?
"It makes me think the police have something to hide. I don't like to use the word 'killed' in relation to what the police did to Mark. I say that he was assassinated by the police. I'd like to see the police officer who killed Mark get sentenced like any other human being. That police officer shot him in cold blood."
She added: "I don't think the police should carry guns at all. They're trigger happy.
"It keeps playing on my mind that Mark was on his own and was surrounded by all those officers. How must he have felt in his final moments. It makes me cry every time I think about it."
Her grief was compounded by the recent death from cancer of her partner of 33 years, Bruno Hall, Mark's father.
"In the space of 11 months I have buried my son and my partner. The first one was shot dead by the police, the second died of cancer – and a broken heart," she said.
"After Mark's shooting Bruno wouldn't talk about it. He just kept repeating over and over again until he died, 'The police killed my son, all I want is justice for my son.' He used to sit and look at photos of Mark and his eyes would well up. Mark's shooting didn't cause Bruno's cancer but it certainly didn't help. Mark's death broke him to pieces. When the police shot Mark they took a big part of Bruno too. Bruno has been buried next to Mark and my only comfort is that the two of them are together now."
Although she and other family members have had several meetings with IPCC officials Pam Duggan is frustrated that they have not provided answers to key questions.
"I keep asking why there were 31 police officers surrounding Mark and why he was shot twice. They tell me they can't answer those questions," she said.
The IPCC came under fire from the north London coroner, Andrew Walker, in June at a pre-inquest review, for refusing to hand over material relating to their investigation into the shooting. Walker ordered the IPCC to hand over material within 28 days or face being in contempt of court.
An IPCC spokeswoman said: "Since the pre-inquest review on 28 June, there has been an ongoing dialogue between the IPCC and Mr Walker, the coroner. Mr Walker attended the IPCC's London office in the week commencing 23 July to view some of the footage in the IPCC's possession and also met the commissioner overseeing the case, Rachel Cerfontyne. The IPCC has provided Mr Walker with further material this week."
The IPCC spokeswoman added that the organisation could not answer Pam Duggan's questions about the number of officers involved in the incident and the number of shots fired as the issues were part of the IPCC's ongoing investigation.
"Bruno was hoping for some closure about Mark's shooting but the last development before he died was the pre-inquest review where the IPCC failed to hand over material to the coroner," said Duggan. "Bruno did not get the closure he was hoping for."
She said that losing two of the people she loved dearly in the space of 11 months made it very hard for her to keep going.
"I miss them both so much. Mark was a peacemaker. He had a soft heart and he loved life. I have to be strong for the sake of Mark's children, my grandchildren, and the rest of my family. But my life has changed so much since the police shot Mark. Sometimes I'm scared to go out. And if I see a police car driving down the street my whole body starts to shake. I think that the officer who killed Mark could be in that car or that they've got guns and might do to someone else what they did to Mark.
"We used to have big family celebrations at Christmas with a nice tree. But I couldn't put a tree up last Christmas. I spent the day at the cemetery instead."
The family's lawyer Marcia Willis Stewart said: "One year after the shooting the Duggan family still know nothing about the circumstances of their son's death. It is important that a full inquest with a jury is held into this case."
The Metropolitan police declined to comment on Pam Duggan's comments.
Large numbers of people are expected to attend a service in memory of Mark Duggan in Tottenham on Sunday.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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