Chelsea Bridge: IOPC appeals for witnesses after man tasered by police dies

The police watchdog is appealing for witnesses following the death of a man who was pulled from the River Thames after being Tasered by officers.

The Independent Office for Police Complaints (IOPC) and the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) are both investigating the incident, which happened at around 9am on Saturday.

A video circulating on social media showed two police officers in a standoff with a man, believed to be in his 40s, on Chelsea Bridge.

Scotland Yard said it had been reported that the man was armed with a screwdriver and “was shouting”.

Footage shows one officer shoot the man with a Taser - who starts screaming and rolling around on the ground.

He then gets up and appears to jump off the bridge while being pursued by one of the officers.

The man was rescued from the River Thames by the RNLI and taken to hospital, however sadly he died on Saturday night.

Scotland Yard said that the man’s family had been informed.

The IOPC said investigators had obtained accounts from the officers involved and secured police body-worn video footage.

IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: "Our sympathies are with the family of the man who died and everyone else affected.

"We have already met with the man’s family to explain our role and we will keep them regularly updated as our inquiries progress.

"While we have footage, we would appeal to people to get in touch with us without delay if they saw or recorded any part of the incident, either on the bridge, after the man came to be in the water or at Lambeth Pier when the man was taken there."