Family of British riots death man seek justice one year on

The mother of a man shot dead by police one year ago sparking riots in many English cities made a plea for justice on Friday, the eve of the anniversary of his death.

Mark Duggan, 29, died when officers shot him in the chest after surrounding the car he was driving in Tottenham, north London, on August 4 last year.

His mother Pam Duggan said the family had still not received a full explanation into the circumstances of his death.

"Thirty-one police officers surrounded Mark and he was shot twice -- why?" Pam Duggan said in a statement.

"Why have none of the police officers given statements, one year on?

"One of the last things my partner, Mark's dad, said before he died a few weeks ago was that he wanted justice for his son."

A provisional date for an inquest -- legal hearings held in Britain to examine sudden or unexplained deaths -- into the death of the father-of-four has been set for January 2013.

"We still don't have justice. I won't give up until I get justice for Mark," she said. "People need to be held to account for my son's death."

Reports at the time that Mark Duggan had fired at officers were dismissed after tests found that a bullet which lodged itself in one officer's radio was police issue.

A non-police issue handgun, converted from a blank-firing pistol to one that shoots live rounds, was recovered close to the scene.

His family questioned why officers had shot him in the chest rather than a part of the body that would not necessarily have resulted in a lethal injury. Police faced criticism at the time from the local community, including Tottenham's opposition Labour lawmaker David Lammy, who said the family "had been forced to learn of the death of their son from watching television".

An inquiry by Britain's police watchdog found that police had failed to formally notify the family of his death at the time.

Scotland Yard issued an apology to Duggan's parents in February this year.

A private memorial service for Mark Duggan will be held this Sunday, his family said.

Riots broke out in Tottenham after Duggan's death and spread to many other parts of London, and then to many other English cities.

Five people were killed in the unrest and millions of pounds worth of property was damaged.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/family-british-riots-death-man-seek-justice-one-201031321.html

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