IOPC witness appeal after man Tasered by Met dies following river rescue

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is appealing for witnesses to come forward as it investigates the interaction between Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers and a man who died after entering the River Thames from Chelsea Bridge.

Police approached the 41-year-old man on the bridge shortly after 9am on Saturday (4 June) while responding to reports of a disturbance. A Taser was deployed by one of the officers prior to the man entering the river.

The man, who lived locally, was rescued from the water after the arrival of a Royal National Lifeboat Institution vessel and taken to Lambeth pier where first aid was given by ambulance staff. He was taken to hospital but sadly died there on Saturday evening.

After we were notified by the MPS on Saturday we sent investigators to the scene and to the police post incident procedure to begin gathering information.

IOPC Regional Director Sal Naseem said: “Our sympathies are with the family of the man who died and everyone else affected. We have already met with the man’s family to explain our role and we will keep them regularly updated as our inquiries progress.

“We have an independent investigation under way, which is looking at the interaction between officers and the man on the bridge. While we have footage we would appeal to people to get in touch with us without delay if they saw or recorded any part of the incident, either on the bridge, after the man came to be in the water, or at Lambeth pier when the man was taken there.

“We would also urge anyone who was on a boat near the bridge at around that time on Saturday morning to contact us.”

Anyone with information can contact the IOPC on 0300 3035579 or email [email protected] as soon as possible.

Our investigators have carried out a CCTV trawl, and have secured some mobile footage filmed on the bridge as well as police body-worn video footage. Initial accounts have been provided by officers involved, and the Taser that was deployed has been gathered for analysis. IOPC investigators have also overseen forensic examination of the scene.

HM Coroner has been informed and a post mortem examination will take place in due course.