‘ANOTHER slap in the face!’ was the verdict of Pam Duggan in response to Tuesday’s Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report which cleared armed officers of any wrongdoing when they shot and killed her son, Mark, in 2011.
The 500-page report, which took three-and-a-half years to produce, claimed 29-year-old Mark was ‘probably in the process of throwing away a handgun when he was shot’.
Pam said yesterday: ‘I don’t want to read it (the report) all the way through … The IPCC has found that the police did nothing wrong when they murdered my son.
‘This report is another slap in the face for all the family. It’s a waste of paper and a waste of ink. IPCC officials came to my house after the shooting. We cooperated with them, they listened to us and said they would help us.
‘They’ve been working on this report for three and a half years since Mark was shot dead and this is what they have come up with.
‘Yet again we’ve been let down. After Mark was shot dead by the police we hoped to get justice at the inquest, but the jury found Mark had been lawfully killed.
‘Then we hoped that the IPCC would say that the fatal shooting could have been avoided, but they haven’t done that. Today’s report is just the latest in a long line of disappointments.’
Mark’s brother, Shaun Hall, said yesterday morning: ‘Myself and my family at the very beginning of this whole escapade told the IPCC that we had no faith in them but at the same time we would give them the chance to prove that they could be an independent body that will look at this case and basically set myself and my family and the general public’s mind at rest at what happened.
‘We gave them the chance to literally be fit for the purpose that they are supposed to be serving.
‘I don’t believe … the whole scenario of magical disappearing gun … we have at least three scenarios of how the gun ended up where it was … we have evidence from the shooter who says that Mark was pointing the gun at him, we have findings from the jury who say the gun was thrown before the vehicle stopped.’
Pam added: ‘It doesn’t get any easier, in fact it just gets harder. But even while I’ve been sick with cancer, what has kept me going is the belief that I’ve got to keep fighting for Mark. I’ve told my oldest grandchild that when I’ve gone, he’s got to keep fighting for justice for his dad.’