Detective sacked over Hutchinson-Foster gun assault inquiry

A detective constable who failed to adequately investigate an allegation of assault involving the gun supplied to Mark Duggan days before he was shot dead by police has been sacked without notice.

It was alleged the officer did not circulate CCTV footage of Kevin Hutchinson-Foster beating the barber in Hackney, but later lied to supervisors about his actions.

On July 29, 2011 Hutchinson-Foster assaulted the barber using a gun that was passed to Mark Duggan just six days later, 15 minutes before Duggan was stopped and shot by police in Tottenham, leading to widespread riots across London and in other English cities.

In 2013, Hutchinson-Foster was convicted of supplying the firearm to Mark Duggan on August 4, 2011, and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear and actual bodily harm during the assault on the barber. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

A misconduct hearing lasting five days concluded on April 22 and found that the detective constable did not reach the requirements contained within the standards of professional behaviour.

A statement issued by the Metropolitan Police Service said “His investigation into the assault on July 29, 2011 breached the standards of professional behaviour because the officer failed to act with `honesty and integrity` and failed in his `duties and responsibilities` because he failed to conduct a proper investigation and thereafter sought to hide his investigative failings by dishonestly asserting that he had circulated the CCTV when he had not.”

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) referred the allegations to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in November 2011.

The IPCC found the officer did not contact witnesses, blood swabs were not subjected to forensic analysis for several months and CCTV that clearly showed an individual carrying out the assault was also not circulated at the earliest opportunity.

However, the IPCC said that had the assault been promptly investigated it would have been highly unlikely that Hutchinson-Foster could or would have been identified before supplying the gun to Mark Duggan.

The misconduct hearing panel decided allegations regarding honesty and integrity amounted to gross misconduct while failings regarding duties and responsibility were assessed to be misconduct.

“After careful consideration, the panel late this afternoon, Friday, April 22, has considered the only appropriate sanction to be dismissal without notice,” the MPS added.

In May 2015, a misconduct meeting found a police sergeant failed to adequately supervise the investigation but no sanction was imposed.