A man who ended up in London’s River Thames after police fired a Taser in a bid to detain him has died, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said. Police were called to Chelsea Bridge Road, west London, on Saturday morning after receiving reports that a man was armed with a screwdriver and shouting. He was rescued from the water and taken to hospital in a critical condition.
The IOPC, the police watchdog, said on Sunday the man, aged in his early 40s, had died in hospital and that an inquiry was under way. IOPC director Steve Noonan said: “We have spoken to the man’s family to express our sincere condolences and explain our involvement. Our sympathies remain with them at this terrible time. Our independent investigation is under way into the police actions at the bridge and we have begun gathering and reviewing evidence.”
The watchdog said: “We are investigating contact Metropolitan Police officers had with a man on Chelsea Bridge yesterday morning (Saturday) prior to him entering the River Thames. He was subsequently rescued from the water and was taken to hospital in a critical condition. The man, in his early 40s, sadly died in hospital on Saturday evening.
