Mark Duggan, whose shooting by police sparked London's riots, did not fire a shot at police officers before they killed him

Mark Duggan, whose shooting by police sparked London's riots, did not fire a shot at police officers before they killed him, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said on Tuesday.

Releasing the initial findings of ballistics tests, the police watchdog said a CO19 firearms officer fired two bullets, and that a bullet that lodged in a police radio was "consistent with being fired from a police gun".

One theory, not confirmed by the IPCC, is that the bullet became lodged in the radio from a ricochet or after passing through Duggan.

Duggan, 29, was killed last Thursday in Tottenham, north London, after armed officers stopped the minicab in which he was travelling.

The IPCC said Duggan was carrying a loaded gun, but it had no evidence that the weapon had been fired. It said tests were continuing.

The officer who fired the fatal shots has been removed from firearms duties, which is standard procedure, pending the IPCC investigation.

Officers from the Met's Operation Trident and Special Crime Directorate 11, accompanied by officers from CO19, the Met's specialist firearms command, stopped the silver Toyota Estima minicab in Ferry Lane, close to Tottenham Hale tube station, to arrest Duggan.

He was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest, and received a second gunshot wound to his right bicep. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 6.41pm.

The IPCC's statement said the bullet lodged in the police radio was a "jacketed round". This is a police-issue bullet and is "consistent with having been fired from a [police] Heckler and Koch MP5", it said.

The non-police firearm found at the scene was a converted BBM Bruni self-loading pistol. The gun was found to have a "bulleted cartridge" in the magazine, which is being subjected to further forensic tests.

The officer whose radio was hit was taken to Homerton hospital where he was examined and discharged later that night. The minicab driver was not injured but was badly shaken by what he saw, the IPCC said. His account, as well as those of the officers, is being examined along with the forensic evidence.

The police watchdog said it was examining CCTV footage of the area, including from buses passing by at the time.

The statement said: "Our investigators will be examining recordings of radio transmissions from both police and London ambulance service, including 999 calls, with a view to tracing further witnesses. We will also be examining any intelligence and surveillance material leading up to the planning of the operation."

The IPCC commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: "Any concerns expressed by the wider public about a perceived lack of information from the IPCC should be considered in the context that I am only willing to share information once I have had it independently verified and once the people who are directly involved in this case – including Mr Duggan's family and community leaders – have been fully informed."

An inquest into Duggan's death was opened at north London coroner's court on Tuesday. The coroner, Andrew Walker, adjourned the hearing to 12 December and offered his sympathies to Duggan's family.

"As members of the family will know, in due course there will be an inquest touching the death of Mark Duggan and this is the first stage in that process, he said. "Of course, as well as offering our deepest sympathies, I would like to reassure members of the family that we will be working closely with Mr Duggan's family and the IPCC throughout the process."

After the hearing, the family said they were "distressed" by the rioting in the wake of his death. In a statement on their behalf, Helen Shaw, from the organisation Inquest, said: "The family want everyone to know that the disorder going on has nothing to do with finding out what has happened to Mark. They also want people to know they are deeply distressed by the disorder affecting communities across the country."

Marshall "Big Bo" Fry was the last remaining fugitive from the Wheels of Soul motorcycle gang wanted in an attempted murder in Denver and conspiracy to kill rival gang members in Illinois.

U.S. marshals, who had spent days scheming ways to capture a wanted biker-gang member in Denver, only to barely miss him in a predawn raid Saturday, saw the wanted man walking along East Colfax Avenue in Aurora on Tuesday night. They arrested him without incident.

Marshall "Big Bo" Fry was the last remaining fugitive from the Wheels of Soul motorcycle gang wanted in an attempted murder in Denver and conspiracy to kill rival gang members in Illinois.

A tip had led the marshals to Aurora, where they happened to spot Fry walking near a Family Dollar store at Colfax Avenue and Peoria Street.

They ordered him down on the ground. Fry complied.

"He knew we were looking for him," said Charlie Ahmad of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Eighteen members of the Wheels of Soul were indicted in a Missouri federal court in June, and Fry was the last man left walking the streets.

The Wheels of Soul is a gang that earned power through crack-cocaine sales, murder, attempted murder and intimidation of rival gangs and clubs across the country, authorities say.

The gang has a "mother chapter" in Philadelphia, but the group's tentacles reach into Indianapolis, Chicago and Denver.

Members wear vests with patches designating rank or status, and they are required to swear an oath to the organization and a constitution.

At a 2010 national meeting in Philadelphia, members were told: "Wheels of Soul members are to be outlaws at all times, and Wheels of Soul is not weekend warrior s---, it is a lifestyle."

Some members have achieved "diamond status" and are deemed "1 percenters," terms to describe those who are particularly criminal and violent, the indictment says.

The gang coded phone calls — referring to firearms as "bottles of wine," for example — to evade the wiretaps of law enforcement.

On Aug. 2, 2010, Fry rode in a sport utility vehicle past the rival Hell's Lovers clubhouse in Denver and opened fire from a shotgun, the indictment says. Three members of Hell's Lovers inside the clubhouse came out and returned fire.

In January, Wheels of Soul's Colorado chapter president Jerry "Shakka" Elkins directed Fry and fellow member Rasheed Jamal "Diamond" Brandon to travel to East St. Louis, Ill. with the intent to shoot and kill members of the Outkast motorcycle gang, the indictment says.

The three met up with two other national members, also there to carry out the hit, but the mission was thwarted because police were near the Outkast gathering that day.

But the Wheels of Soul's propensity for violence is why local deputy U.S. marshals put so much effort into preparation.

On Saturday morning, they pored over maps one last time and rehearsed the game plan before pouncing on an auto-repair shop where they believed Fry was hiding. They suspect he had been there but left before the marshals arrived. So they were back to mining intelligence and hoping he hadn't fled the state — when they spotted him Tuesday night.

Fry is charged with racketeering, attempt to commit murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering. He remained in custody Wednesday, awaiting a detention hearing before a judge.

Latest developments in Sydney bomb extortion attempt

An 18 year old woman from Sydney's richest postcode is recovering from a harrowing ten hour ordeal today. Police have now confirmed that a note was attached to the device containing unspecified demands. Police say the hoax was an 'extortion attempt', and they've set up a strike force to find the criminals.

 

Five members of an elite police gun crime unit have been sacked for "inappropriate behaviour".

The photo was discovered during a professional standards investigation
An investigation into their conduct led to the discovery of a photograph which appeared to show the officers fooling around during a raid on a suspect's home.
The group were dismissed after being found guilty of gross misconduct.
All five constables worked within Merseyside Police's Matrix team which targets drug-related gang and gun crime in the region.
A sergeant who was part of the unit was fired in May as a result of the inquiry.
The sergeant and two constables are currently on police bail amid allegations that items removed during police searches appeared on eBay.
Deputy Chief Constable Bernard Lawson said: "We expect the highest standards from our officers and these officers fell far short of that expectation.
"As a force we believe it is important to take swift and decisive action when officers are found to have fallen short of the standards we expect and in this case we have done just that."
The Matrix unit helped target the gangs associated with the murder of schoolboy Rhys Jones who was shot dead in Croxteth in August 2007.

 

Gardaí are seeking witnesses after a man was shot dead at his home in Carrigaline, Co Cork.

A murder inquiry has commenced after Darren Falsey was killed in the rented house which he shared with his partner and one of his children. A post mortem examination is being conducted on his remains this morning by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster.

Mr Falsey (36), a father of two, was found dead at the house at Ashbourne Court, Ferney Road, Carrigaline by his partner, Lorraine Conroy, when she returned home with the couple’s child Dylan shortly before 3pm yesterday.

Mr Falsey, who was unemployed, had been out shopping earlier in the day with Ms Conroy and their child. He was last seen alive when she dropped him home at about 2pm before she left to collect someone.

Gardaí immediately cordoned off the area and a Garda technical team was dispatched from Dublin to carry out a forensic examination of the scene.

Gardaí could find no sign of forced entry and believe that Mr Falsey was shot after he answered the front door to his killer. His body was found lying in the hallway just inside the front door. They are keeping an open mind on whether he may have known his killer.

It is understood that Mr Falsey had been shot possibly up to three times in the face and is believed to have died instantly. Gardaí recovered three bullet casings which they believe came from a semi-automatic weapon.

Detectives began door-to-door inquires along Ferney Road and in Ashbourne Court in the hope of talking to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the area between 1pm and 3pm. They are today examining CCTV footage from businesses in the Carrigaline to see if any suspicious activity can be detected.

They have asked anyone who might have any information to contact Togher Garda station on 021-494 7120.

Gardaí last night began collecting CCTV footage from garages and other commercial premises around Carrigaline in the hope of identifying the car or vehicle used by the killer or killers to flee.

Mr Falsey had been living at the two-storey detached house for the past four years with his partner.

He had previously lived in the Grange area of Douglas, where it is understood that his two other children from a previous relationship live with their mother.

Mr Falsey had also lived in the Wilton area of Cork city and in Ballygarvan, just outside the city. He was well known in hunting and harrier circles and it is understood that he kept a number of hunting dogs.

Mr Falsey was also known to gardaí who suspected him of involvement in drug dealing.

One Garda source said he was a significant player in the Cork drugs scene over the past 10 years or so, with an involvement in the supply of large quantities of cannabis and cocaine.

It is understood that he had previously been threatened by a gang from Limerick when living in a house in the Grange area of Douglas in 2005-2006 but gardaí were last night keeping an open mind on a possible motive for the shooting.

One Garda source said the shooting may be related to a drugs debt but it is understood that gardaí were not ruling out the possibility that Mr Falsey was shot by dissident republicans who have already admitted responsibility for the murder of two drug dealers in Cork.

In January 2010, the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the murder of convicted drug dealer Gerard Staunton, who was shot in Wilton, while last year, the Real IRA admitted responsibility for the murder of Kieran O’Flynn in Dublin Hill in June 2001.