LONDON, December 8 (Sputnik) — London police learned their lesson from riots similar to those in the US city of Ferguson long ago, a Scotland Yard representative told RIA Novosti Monday.
The shooting of Mark Duggan, a resident of the London borough of Tottenham, who was thought to be in the possession of a gun, by police in August 2011 caused a wave of public unrest and violence in London and other cities in the UK. More than 15,000 people took part in the riots that lasted for five days. In August 2014, a jury ruled that Mark Duggan was killed lawfully.
"All the conclusions following the 2011 events have already been made," the source told RIA Novosti. "However, we do not comment on what is now happening in Ferguson," he added.
The source also emphasized that most police officers in Britain do not carry guns, except for cases of criminal detention.
Following the death of Mark Duggan, London Metropolitan Police decided in May 2014 that officers would wear small cameras attached to their uniforms to register evidence in real time.
Moreover, police officers in Wales and England were authorized to use water cannons in order to prevent riots similar to those that took place all over the country in 2011.
In August, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African-American teenager, was shot dead by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, sparking nationwide rallies. Another wave of protests erupted after a grand jury decision on November 24 not to indict Wilson.
Protests swept across 180 US cities of 38 different states and even spread to some other countries including the United Kingdom.
A week-long, 120-mile protest march across Missouri from Ferguson to the governor's mansion in Jefferson City culminated in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People calling for police reforms.
