A man who fell to his death from a balcony when police fired a Taser last week had been in distress for hours before officers were called, a neighbour has said.
Police have not named the man, who was described as quiet, solitary and kind by neighbours in Peckham, south-east London, on Tuesday. Mourners who laid flowers at the scene said they wished they could have done more to help him.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has opened an investigation after a mandatory referral by Scotland Yard, which has said one of its officers discharged a Taser on the balcony of the high-rise building from which the man was threatening to jump.
The force said its officers spent more than an hour trying to convince the man, who is thought to be black, to come down – having been called out at 1.24am on Wednesday 12 April.
On Tuesday, Mohamed Bah, a neighbour, said he had seen and heard the man, who lived in the building, shouting about jumping from the balcony many hours earlier than that – while there was daylight.
“[The shouting] was for the whole day. I came three or four times in and out of the house. He was up there the whole day, until the night. There was a banging on the door. I don’t know if it was the police or him, but he was saying ‘if you come closer, I am going to jump’.”
Another neighbour said: “He always said ‘hi’ to me and that was about it. He would hold the door open. He didn’t seem mean or anything, but he didn’t really talk to anyone.”
A note left with some flowers at the scene read: “May your troubled soul at last find peace. I wish we could have done more for you.”
On Tuesday, an independent charity that works with families bereaved by state-related deaths called for police to no longer to be the first port-of-call when dealing with mental health crises and other incidents in which the prospect of suicide is being raised.
Deborah Coles, the director of Inquest, said: “Once again we see the fatal consequences of the police being first responders to people in mental health crisis and the use of force against black men. It is clear from previous deaths that the use of Tasers and force is prioritised over the care and compassion needed.
“This death also raises questions about community mental health services, and whether steps may have been taken to prevent a crisis of this nature. This comes less than a year after the death of Oladeji Omishore, who fell from Chelsea Bridge after being Tasered by police. We stand with all the families bereaved in similar circumstances in asking: when will this end?”
An IOPC spokesperson said on Monday: “We have begun an independent investigation into an incident involving Metropolitan police service (MPS) officers on Wednesday (12 April) in south-east London, where a man was seriously injured and later died in hospital after falling from a balcony.
“We were advised that MPS officers attended an address in Peckham at around 2am following a report of a man threatening to jump from a balcony on a residential building.
“We have established that officers were present for over an hour and attempted to persuade the man to come inside from the balcony. The man has then been tasered while on the balcony and he has fallen several floors to the ground.
“The man was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries and died later the same day.
“We received a mandatory referral from the force and declared an independent investigation the next day. Our investigation is in its initial stages and we have secured officers’ body worn footage as we begin gathering evidence.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
