Man dies after falling into Thames while being arrested by police
The IOPC are conducting an independent investigation into the incident
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A man has died after falling in the River Thames while being arrested by the police.
The Metropolitan Police were called to Kingston Bridge around 10.30pm on Friday after a man and woman known to each other got into an altercation.
Officers were in the process of arresting the man, believed to be aged in his 20s, when he entered the water. He had not been placed in handcuffs.
Emergency services were called to locate the man, including the Met’s Marine Policing Unit, National Police Air Service, London Fire Brigade and the RNLI.
The man was recovered from the water at around 00:30hrs and treated by paramedics. Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead. The man's family have been informed.
Police cordons remain in place and enquiries are ongoing.
The Met's Directorate of Professional Standards have made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The IOPC are conducting an independent investigation.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said: “My thoughts, and those of the Metropolitan Police Service, are with the friends and family of the man who has sadly lost his life following this incident.
“I fully appreciate the public will be very concerned. We of course share that concern. The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards made an immediate referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as is protocol in any incident in which a person comes to harm following police contact.
“We will fully support the IOPC's investigation.”
In June Oladeji Adeyemi Omishore died after falling into the River Thames while being tasered by the Metropolitan Police.
Officers initially said Omishore was armed with a screwdriver before later confirming it was a plastic and metal firelighter.
Releasing a statement through the charity Inquest, the family expressed concerns about how police dealt with the 41-year-old at a time when he was “clearly suffering from a mental health crisis and he was vulnerable and frightened”.
In the family's statement, the family said: “We welcome the long overdue correction that all Oladeji had in his possession at the time was a lighter.
“Deji was clearly suffering from a mental health crisis and he was vulnerable and frightened.
“We have set out our concerns to the IOPC about how the officers communicated with him, their repeated use of force on him, and its impact.”