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Ray,

I am not surprised that you witnessed mostly black people looting - and I am black! As a professional who attended a state school in Southwark, I am not surprised that some poor black people have used the Mark Duggan case for their own gain.

We do not have the full facts so as far as I am concerned the IPCC should be allowed to do their job! It is in the wider public interest that we ensure the police are following their own procedures and behave reasonably. They do have a right to open fire if someone is deemed to be a risk to the public. And to determine how much risk he posed to the general public, we need to establish all the facts and this will take time.

As for some of the poor black people who believe there was an injustice, it is a shame that I did not see them coming out of the woodwork when the Ian Tomlinson, Mark Saunders and Jean Charles de Menezes (I could go on) incidents occurred and we subsequently found out that mistakes were made. Similarly, I did not see white or Brazilian people out looting! They are not a special case and I do believe the army should be brought in to restore order. I also fail to see the connection between small business, large companies such as Sainsbury, Aldi and JD Sport and Mark Duggan. There is simply no excuse for feral behaviour - this is a civilised society and these looters must be brought to justice.

On a final note, I keep hearing talk of this "black community". I live in NW London with people of all faiths, races, etc. My "community leader" is not black but a white woman called Sarah Teather who continues to do a good job. These acts are being committed by some poor black people and not by black doctors, nurses, financiers, investment bankers, etc. I am not part of this so-called "black community" and neither are my friends and work colleagues. Therefore commentators such as the Evening Standard's Alex Wheatle must stop writing articles as if his opinions are representative of the majority and define the term "black community".

Alison