A man who was shot dead by a London police tazer and had to be rescued from the Thames has died, the Independent Police Conduct Service (IOPC) said.
Police were called to Chelsea Bridge Road in west London on Saturday morning after receiving reports that a man was armed with a screwdriver and screaming.
When officers arrived shortly afterwards, metropolitan police said they had called a man to the Chelsea Bridge and fired a stunning pistol, but that “did not allow officers to detain him safely”.
The man, in his early 40s, “later entered the river”, police said, and was rescued by RNLI, who took him to hospital, where his condition was assessed as critical.
The IOPC said on Sunday that the man had died in hospital and an independent investigation was under way.
The director of the police supervisory body, Steve Noonan, said: “We spoke with the man’s family to express our sincere condolences and explain our involvement. Our sympathies remain with them in this terrible moment.
“Our independent investigation into the police actions on the bridge is underway and we have begun to gather and review evidence.”
A video of the incident, posted online, shows two police officers confronting a man who fell to the ground after firing a stunning gun.
After fighting, the man stands up and runs to the side of the bridge and pulls himself over the edge before one of the police officers can reach him.
Commander Alexis Boone said: “My thoughts are with the man’s family at this very difficult time. I express my sincere condolences to them for their tragic loss.
“Employees go to work every day to protect public safety, so any incident in which a person is injured after contact with the police is understandably alarming.
“Our employees face some of the most challenging and difficult situations on a daily basis, making them fully aware that their actions must be subject to public scrutiny.
“Met’s Professional Standards Directorate immediately contacted the Independent Police Conduct Service after this sad incident, and we will cooperate fully with them as they work to understand the full circumstances.”
The use of stunning police pistols, known as Tasers, has been the subject of much controversy in the past. In February, the IOPC found that a Metropolitan police officer who shot a 10-year-old girl with such a weapon should be charged with a felony. The policeman shot at the girl in south-west London after he announced that she had threatened a woman with garden shears and a hammer.
The following month, a police officer was charged with grievous bodily harm after a man was shot with a taser and left paralyzed from the chest down. Officers from the Met Territorial Support Group stopped Jordan Walker-Brown, 25, on two consecutive days on May 3 and 4, 2020, and both times he was found to be carrying small amounts of cannabis for personal use. He jumped over a wall that was about 1.2 meters (4 feet) high on one side, but had a 1.8-meter drop on the other when he was hit by Taser. Then he fell through the wall.
A social worker who was shot and knocked unconscious during a stop at the road last month said police treated him like a “wild animal”. Edwin Afrie, 36, is on trial in London police after suffering a head injury and suicidal thoughts as a result of the accident.
The latest incident comes when Interior Minister Priti Patel announced that special police officers will gain access to stunning pistols as part of a number of new criminal initiatives. An Amnesty International UK police expert said in response that arming volunteer officers was dangerous and would inevitably lead to “more abuse, serious injuries and deaths from Tasers”.
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