Police today said no lessons could be learned from the operation which ended with the shooting of Mark Duggan.
A senior officer denied that it was flawed, based on inaccurate intelligence and deficient supervision.
Acting Det Supt Mick Foote told the inquest: “I am quite satisfied with the way things went” although there had been “obviously tragic circumstances”.
No officer involved in the operation had been moved or suspended, the court heard.
Duggan, 29, was shot dead by police officers who had been following a minicab in Ferry Lane, Tottenham, in August 2011.
The court had heard he was a member of Tottenham Man Dem — one of the most violent gangs in Europe — and was suspected of being involved in shootings. His death sparked the summer riots which swept the capital and other cities.
A gun, said to have been supplied to him earlier in Leyton, was found about 20ft from the shooting.
Mr Foote was cross-examined today by Michael Mansfield QC, representing the Duggan family at the Royal Courts of Justice. The QC described the police operation as “the result of flawed planning, in which you were involved, which was based on a failure by you and others to properly assess and implement accurate intelligence that was the result of deficient supervision”.
Mr Foote said that Duggan had been one of six suspected gangsters being watched in a four-day surveillance operation and had been considered “the most active” in getting a gun.
He said gangsters tended to lead “chaotic lifestyles” and did not act predictably, which meant police had to be ready to react spontaneously.
Mr Mansfield asked him: “Have lessons been learned?”
Mr Foote replied: “I have often thought about that and I can’t think of what lessons have to be learned.”
He added that on a personal note he had learned the importance of making a note about phone calls from other officers. The inquest continues.
