London crowds riot to protest man's killing 

A British police watchdog group said it will meet Sunday with the family of a man whose death allegedly at the hands of officers led to riots in north London.

Demonstrators on Saturday night burned police cars, a bus and buildings to protest the death of Mark Duggan. They pelted officers with bottles and bricks as police in riot gear charged at the crowd and blocked off streets.

A double-decker bus and some buildings were also set ablaze, sending bright orange flames shooting into the night sky.

"The rioting in Tottenham last night was utterly unacceptable," Downing Street said Sunday. "There is no justification for the aggression the police and the public faced, or for the damage to property."

The protests started peacefully Saturday night when about 30 friends and relatives of the victim gathered outside Tottenham police station to protest the fatal shooting of Duggan during a traffic stop.

Duggan was killed after shots were fired when police stopped a cab Thursday in an attempted arrest, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said.

The 29-year-old was a passenger in the cab, the commission said without elaborating who shot him or why the cab was stopped.

An independent investigation is under way, the agency said, and appealed to witnesses to come forward.

At least eight officers were wounded in the Saturday night protests, including one who suffered a head injury, police said.

"We already have one grieving family in our community and further violence will not heal that pain," said David Lammy, member of parliament for Tottenham
Lammy appealed to protesters to refrain from violence.

"The Tottenham community and Mark Duggan's family and friends need to understand what happened on Thursday evening when Mark lost his life," he said. "To understand those facts, we must have calm."

Still, pockets of unrest lingered early Sunday in the Tottenham area, police said.

"These are very distressing scenes for Londoners in general and the local community in particular," said Cmdr. Stephen Watson. "For those who involved themselves in this level of violence, there is no excuse."

Watson said the perpetrators may be brought to justice. But for now, the priority is to maintain calm.

"Our intention at this time is to bring things to as swift a conclusion as we can," he said. " Our absolute aim is to restore normality."
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