Hundreds of people gather at Tottenham police station for Mark Duggan vigil

 
Pa12 January 2014

Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside Tottenham police station to hold a vigil for Mark Duggan.

His relatives and supporters have called for the event to remain peaceful, while the Metropolitan Police warned that some protesters planned to "cause disorder".

The vigil is being staged in protest against what his family have branded a "perverse" inquest finding this week that Mr Duggan, 29, was lawfully killed by police.

Mr Duggan's mother Pamela and aunt Carole were joined by crowds carrying placards which read "Justice for Mark Duggan - 1476 deaths in custody or following police contact since 1990 not one conviction".

His death at the hands of a Metropolitan Police marksman sparked riots across the country in 2011.

Reggae and hip hop music was played from loud speakers as the family of Sean Rigg, a black musician who died in Brixton police station, joined the march.

Trade unionists were also present, while Tottenham Hotspur fans went past the protest to their home game against Crystal Palace at nearby White Hart Lane.

Crack down on violence: Police on a night patrol in London FILE IMAGE BY: Nigel Howard
Police keep a watch outside Tottenham Police Station after the Mark Duggan verdict. A police officer is engaged in conversation by a man outside the police station. PICTURE BY: NIGEL HOWARD Email: nigelhowardmedia@gmail.com

The crowd held a minute's silence before chanting "No justice, no peace".

Later they shouted: "Who are the murderers? Police are the murderers."

Carole Duggan told protesters: "The more we people come together and support each other, maybe we can make a better life for our children, for all of those children who have to live in these communities that are over-policed, where they are not free.

"They don't have the same freedom as other children in other parts of the country and that's not fair.

"What we have got to remember - Mark isn't here and we are doing this for his children.

"So let's show the country that we are not this gangster family that the media has been systematically portraying us as.

"Mark was not a gangster, the media sustained a campaign against him.

"We're just an ordinary family."

Mr Duggan's aunt later called for a new Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation into his death.

She said: "Mark did not get the justice he deserved from the inquest, so therefore we have no alternative but to go back to basics, start at the beginning.

"The beginning was with the IPCC - what we really want the IPCC to do now is what they should have done in the beginning and that is a thorough investigation.

"On numerous occasions during the IPCC investigation they were criticised, they were hauled up and they were accused of incompetence which they admitted to, so it's nothing they don't already know.

"They know they're incompetent, they know they didn't do a thorough job because they were investigating their own people - 65% of IPCC members are ex-police, and I believe that's why Mark did not get the justice he should have got."

She said: "Mark did not get the justice he deserved from the inquest, so therefore we have no alternative but to go back to basics, start at the beginning.

"The beginning was with the IPCC - what we really want the IPCC to do now is what they should have done in the beginning and that is a thorough investigation.

"On numerous occasions during the IPCC investigation they were criticised, they were hauled up and they were accused of incompetence, which they admitted to, so it's nothing they don't already know.

"They know they're incompetent, they know they didn't do a thorough job because they were investigating their own people - 65% of IPCC members are ex-police, and I believe that's why Mark did not get the justice he should have got."

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