Man dies after falling into Thames while being arrested as police watchdog opens investigation
27 August 2022, 11:45 | Updated: 27 August 2022, 12:42
A man in his 20s has died after falling into the Thames as he was being arrested.
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The Metropolitan had been called to an argument between a man and a woman who knew each other on Kingston Bridge late on Friday.
An allegation of theft was made and the man fell into the river. He had not been placed in handcuffs, police said.
Search teams from the Met, the RNLI and the London Fire Brigade searched for him along with the National Police Air Service.
Police said in a statement: "At around 22:30hrs on Friday, 26 August, police on routine patrol were flagged down on Kingston Bridge to a verbal altercation involving a man and a woman who were known to each other.
"An allegation of theft was made. 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."
The force added: "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 remains in place and enquiries are ongoing. The Met's Directorate of Professional Standards have made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct."
It follows the death of Oladeji Adeyemi Omishore, 41, after an incident involving police on Chelsea Bridge.
The 41-year-old from Pimlico was Tasered three times as officers told him to stay on the ground during the incident in June, but he then fell over the edge of the bridge and into the Thames.
He later died in hospital. The Independent Office for Police Conduct, the police watchdog, has opened an 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."
