Lawful Killing: Mark Duggan – Fresh questions and old wounds as police shooting is revisited

The death of Mark Duggan in 2011 sparked the worst British riots in a generation. The case was revisited on Monday night (5 December) when docudrama, Lawful Killing: Mark Duggan, aired on BBC One.

With a combination of dramatic reconstructions, transcripts of evidence given at the coroner's inquest, personal testimony and official police records, the 90-minute project tried to offer a conclusion to the event that cut a deep wound into the psyche of Britons.

Despite the filmmaker's best efforts, for many viewers, the programme which focused on the days leading to the fatal shooting and the shocking aftermath, left questions unanswered and even opened fresh wounds.

Back in August, Duggan's aunt Carole told IBTimes UK that his family were still fighting for justice. "We haven't got justice for what the police did on that day," she said at a rally to mark the five-year anniversary of his death. "It's five years and we're still fighting. But we won't give up."

Social media is now awash with equally infuriated viewers venting their rage of the actions of the police on 4 August 2011. These are the common questions on the viewers' minds.

Why was the Met Police not involved in the making of the docudrama?

Having granted the BBC unprecedented access for similar crime documentaries, viewers were left stunned when it was revealed from the offset that: "The Metropolitan Police chose not to participate in the making of this film but we will hear the officers' own words by dramatising their inquest transcripts."

For some people, this served as further confirmation that the police had something to hide, with some furious commentators suggesting that there had been some wrongdoing on their part. One commentator tweeted: "Wonder why the racist police didn't want to take part lol bunch of clowns that was so needed we go no chill for bulls**t simple #MarkDuggan."

Why didn't police inform his family of his death?

Duggan's family were not informed of his death for 48-hours. When contact was made it was by the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission).

At the time Rachel Cerfontyne, the IPCC commissioner leading the investigation, said: "I am very clear that their [family] concerns were not about lack of contact or support from the IPCC. Their concerns were about lack of contact from the police in delivering news of his death to Mark's parents. It is never the responsibility of the IPCC to deliver a message regarding someone's death."

In 2012, the police publically apologised for its failings in dealing with the case after the family waited outside the station for hours demanding an explanation.

How did the gun end up so far away?

There have been contradictory accounts about whether Duggan was actually armed when police opened fire and the documentary came no closer to uncovering the truth.

Although it was later revealed in court that he had not been carrying a gun, the Met police have always maintained Duggan was a member of the Tottenham Mandem gang and was armed during the attempted arrest near Tottenham Hale Tube station.

While no gun was found on him, a handgun used in an assault months earlier was recovered metres from his body. One theory is that he threw the gun during the face-off with police. According to one eyewitness, he was unarmed when he was shot and was actually bringing out his phone.

Why did police have surveillance on a man with only two minor offences?

Although the killing was ruled as lawful because the police considered Duggan to armed at the time, many have questioned why the police had placed him under surveillance, instead of his associate Kevin Hutchinson-Foster.

Some viewers asked why Detective Chief Inspector Mick Foote, from the Met's gang crime unit Trident, described Duggan as one of the 48 most dangerous men in Europe when the only offences on his record were cannabis possession and the sale of stolen goods.

Will there be a public inquiry?

A change.org petition urging Prime Minster Theresa May to open a public inquiry into Duggan's death has amassed over 11,000 signatures.