Mark Duggan shooting witness emerges

Footage obtained by the BBC shows the aftermath of the shooting

The BBC has obtained footage of the aftermath of the police shooting of Mark Duggan, whose death in north London sparked the 2011 summer riots.

The footage, by someone who says they witnessed the shooting, includes attempts to save Mr Duggan’s life following the incident last August.

On the tape, the witness recounts that Mr Duggan jumped out of a car and police twice shouted: “Put it down.”

The witness who provided the footage to the BBC has asked to remain anonymous.

Witness commentary

Mr Duggan was shot by police on 4 August in north London. Within days there was rioting in Tottenham – the scene of the shooting – which then spread across England in the worst disorder in a generation.

The 29-year-old father-of-four was a passenger in a minicab when it was stopped in a planned operation involving the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime affecting black communities, and officers from the specialist firearms team CO19.

Two shots were fired from a police gun and Mr Duggan died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. A non-police issue firearm was found at the scene.

The IPCC has been unable to interview any of the police officers present at Mark Duggan’s shooting

The pre-inquest review into the death heard earlier this year that that gun had no traces of Mr Duggan’s fingerprints, DNA or blood on it.

The footage handed to the BBC begins just minutes after the police opened fire at about 18:15 BST.

It shows the people-carrier minicab that Mr Duggan had been travelling in and three unmarked police cars used to halt the vehicle. Mr Duggan is lying on the pavement as attempts are made to resuscitate him.

Buses initially pass the scene before the police have had time to close roads.

As time goes on, paramedics can be seen continuing emergency treatment in vain. Firearms officers wearing baseball caps can be seen moving around the scene.

During the footage, the witness provides occasional commentary of what has happened – and also recounts the moments before the filming began.

The BBC asked an independent audio analyst, who has worked on major police investigations, to listen to a key part of the commentary which is difficult to hear amid background noise.

According to the expert, the witness says: “They blocked him in, they blocked him in. He jumped out… And then he’s taken out, shot him … because I heard them shout at him yeah, ‘put it down, put it down’.”

Broadcast material

In a BBC Radio 4 documentary broadcast on Thursday evening, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) called for new powers to compel officers to attend interviews if they witness a fatal shooting by colleagues.

The demand came after the BBC learned that the IPCC had not been able to interview any of the 31 officers who were present at the shooting of Mr Duggan.

The firearms officers involved in the operation have all provided statements to the IPCC but turned down interview requests.

In a statement, IPCC commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: “The IPCC is conducting a sensitive investigation of considerable public interest.

“Given this, it is particularly disappointing that BBC News did not afford us the opportunity to view this footage in advance of broadcast, despite our repeated requests.”

The IPCC also said the footage was “likely to have caused considerable distress to Mr Duggan’s family, friends and the local community”.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “The BBC is fully aware of the sensitivities around this story and ensured that Mark Duggan’s family were informed about the footage before it was broadcast.

“Requests for BBC untransmitted material are dealt through our legal department, regardless of the subject matter. We require requests for untransmitted material to be made through the courts.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17859958