Man Killed By Cops May Not Have Fired Gun

Fresh questions have been raised over the shooting of Mark Duggan amid speculation a bullet found in a police radio could have come from an officer's gun.

The 29-year-old father-of-four died in Tottenham on Thursday after he was shot by police.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation is under way into the incident.

Initial reports said an officer may have escaped serious injury because his radio got in the way of a bullet.

However, The Guardian newspaper has quoted a source saying initial tests suggest the bullet was police issue.

The IPCC has said it would not comment on this until all ballistics and forensic tests were complete - but it has confirmed a non-police issue gun was found at the scene.

Mr Duggan's death led to rioting and looting in north London at the weekend.

Sky's Martin Brunt said: "We don't know if these claims are true, the IPCC say there is a need for more tests.

"A lot of this is about public perception - there is this idea that there was a shootout.

"Nobody has said that officially, although the IPCC has said that a non-police gun was found at the scene.

"The suggestion is that Mark Duggan had a gun. We don't know if he fired it and even if he didn't fire it, it doesn't rule out police justification for shooting him.

"If he was carrying a gun and made a move towards it that would have been enough justification for the police to open fire.

"All these questions remain unanswered and this is part of the problem for people in Tottenham wanting answers."

On Sunday, Mr Duggan's brother Shaun Hall said the family was "devastated" by his death and dismissed as "utter rubbish" the allegations he had shot at police.

Mr Hall also said the family did not condone the riots looting that rocked their local area.

"It seems to be the press who are generally saying that it is linked to my brother," he said.

"Okay, some questions were supposed to have been answered, they weren't answered, therefore there was a domino effect from that [but] we don't condone that at all.

"I know people are frustrated, they're angry out there at the moment, but I would say please try and hold it down.

"Please don't make this about my brother's life, he was a good man."

IPCC Commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: "Mark Duggan's family and the community in Tottenham need answers about what happened to him.

"We will investigate independently, thoroughly and robustly so that we can give them answers."

A major investigation has been launched, codenamed Operation Withern, following the unrest in Tottenham on Saturday.

The riots were roundly condemned as the shocked community surveyed the devastation caused.

Community and political leaders were swift to criticise the rioting, looting and arson that swept through the area after the mood at the protest turned nasty.

Deputy mayor for policing in London Kit Malthouse told Sky News the capital was
one of the "safest big cities on earth".

He added: "I think it is worth stressing that this is quite a small group of people within our community in London who have decided to perpetrate violence and who, frankly, are looking for stuff to nick.

"They're picking particular kinds of stores, whether it is because they want a new set of trainers or whatever it is.

"What we have to be careful to do, in the media and in politics, is not create some kind of atmosphere of excuse for their behaviour."

He also defended London Mayor Boris Johnson's decision to stay on holiday during the crisis in the capital.

"Should he be reacting to these criminal provocateurs in that way by coming back? I think that is kind of rewarding them," he said.

"Modern communications mean he can stay in touch and participate in meetings from around the globe."