The funeral of Mark Duggan, whose death at the hands of British police sparked riots across England last month, took place today amid lingering tensions between family members and detectives.
Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of Mr Duggan (29) in north London. Thousands paid their respects later when a private cortege made its way through the Broadwater Farm estate.
Mr Duggan’s death in Tottenham, north London, on August 4th, was the trigger for the first of four nights of riots that spread from the capital across England.
The family of Mr Duggan last night accused officers of presiding over a “shoot-to-kill policy”, and questioned why police had shot him in the chest rather than a non-lethal part of the body.
Tottenham MP David Lammy said yesterday that Mr Duggan’s family was “left floundering” and the “lack of communication did not help”.
Mr Duggan's mother, Pam Duggan (53), who described her son as a “loving boy with a good heart”, organised a private church ceremony before a reception at the Broadwater Farm Community Centre.
His coffin, in a white carriage pulled by four white horses with plumes on their heads, was adorned with flowers. Emblazoned on it were the words “grandson”, “son” and “dad”.
Led by Mr Duggan’s brothers Marlon Duggan and Shaun Hall, it was followed by a long procession of cars.
Grieving friends, relatives and well-wishers earlier arrived to pay their respects as the sounds of Amazing Grace rang out.
Others, dressed in black, gathered outside the New Testament Church of God in Wood Green, north London, where the beat of a drum was heard as his funeral got under way.
The ceremony comes after the British home secretary urged politicians to refrain from rushing to judgment over the causes of the widespread violence.
Asked if the riots were prompted by the shooting of Mr Duggan, Theresa May told MPs: “I would be very cautious in saying that the shooting had the sort of direct link that we’re talking about.”
An investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission is expected to last up to six months.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “It is in the interest of everyone, the family of Mr Duggan, the public and the police, that the Independent Police Complaints Commission is able to establish all the facts of the events so that there is a complete understanding of what happened, and the MPS is doing everything possible to assist with that process.
“We have met with Mr Duggan’s parents. In line with the family’s wishes, the policing will reflect the family’s desire for a local, peaceful and dignified funeral.”
Initial reports that Mr Duggan shot at police were dismissed by ballistic tests which later found that a bullet which lodged itself in one officer’s radio was police issue.
Mr Duggan was a passenger in a minicab which was apparently stopped by police near Tottenham Hale Tube station.
A non-police issue handgun, converted from a blank-firing pistol to one that shoots live rounds, was recovered close to the scene of his death.
An inquest into Mr Duggan’s death, which opened at North London Coroner’s Court in High Barnet, heard the father of four died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
PA