Police shooting jury ‘may consider killing illegal’

The jury in the inquest into the death of Mark Duggan – whose killing sparked widespread riots in England in the summer of 2011 - has been told they may consider a conclusion of unlawful killing.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Dec 2013, 00:01 BST

Father-of-four Mr Duggan was shot by police marksmen who stopped the taxi he was travelling in in Tottenham, north London.

The inquest into his death began 12 weeks ago at the High Court in London and Judge Keith Cutler told the panel of 10 to reach their decisions “calmly and coolly on the evidence” as he summed up.

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He told them they could decide that the 29-year-old was killed unlawfully, lawfully, or reach an open conclusion.

The judge added: “This is not a trial, it is not a method of apportioning blame on an individual. Please come to your decisions and conclusions calmly and coolly on the evidence.”

Judge Cutler told the jury they should consider a number of questions, including whether or not Scotland Yard and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) “did the best they reasonably could have done” to react to the intelligence that Mr Duggan had bought a gun from an associate.

He also asked them to consider whether or not Mr Duggan was stopped in a spot wherethey could have “minimised recourse to lethal force”; whether or not he was in possession of a gun; how a gun was found in a grassy area nearby; and did Mr Duggan have the gun in his hand when he was shot.

Related topics:EnglandLondonTottenhamHigh Court