A man is in critical condition after he was Tasered by police and then had to be rescued after falling from Chelsea Bridge into the River Thames.
Officers were called to reports a man, in his 40s, was armed with a screwdriver and shouting at the location just after 9am on Saturday
Police attended and challenged him on Chelsea Bridge. The force used a Taser but were not able to detain the man.
The man, who has not been named, then “entered the river”, according to Scotland Yard. The RNLI were scrambled to rescue the man from the Thames.
He was taken to hospital and is in a critical condition. Police are in the process of contacting the man’s family.
The circumtances of the incident are being probed by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards.
The incident has also been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Detective Chief Inspector Rory Wilkinson of the Met’s Central West BCU said: “My thoughts are with this man, who is extremely unwell in hospital. Officers are making every effort to make contact with his family.
“I understand that there are always concerns about incidents in which people come to harm having been in contact with police. All Met officers know that they are accountable for their actions, and a full investigation is under way to establish exactly what happened.”
