A man who drowned in the Thames was shot three times with a stun gun by police moments before he fell from Chelsea Bridge, an inquest has heard.
Police were called to the bridge in west London on 4 June 2022 after numerous reports of a man shouting and waving a screwdriver or knife in the middle of the road.
After officers arrived, they used a Taser on Oladeji Omishore, 41, three times. He made his way to the side of the bridge before he fell into the river and died in the Thames. He was later found to be holding a lighter, not a weapon.
At the opening of an inquest into his death on Monday, numerous calls to 999 describing Omishore’s actions were played. One witness described an “obviously very, very unwell” man holding a knife or a screwdriver outside Lister hospital, a short distance from the bridge.
Other callers made note of his poor mental state. One said: “He doesn’t look like he’s in the right frame of mind”, and another said: “I don’t think he’s actually threatening violence, I think he’s just ill.”
Bodyworn footage showed one officer Tasering Omishore three times in quick succession moments after getting out of a police car on the bridge. At first, the officer says: “Drop the screwdriver or you will be Tasered,” before discharging his stun gun.
The footage showed Omishore rolling on the floor and being told to “stay still” and “put your hands on the fucking floor” before being Tasered again. After the third time, Omishore ran to the edge of the bridge. One officer continued to point his Taser gun at Omishore while the other managed to get close to him before he appears to jump off the bridge.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) opened an investigation after his death. The police watchdog expanded its investigation after the Metropolitan police released incorrect information about the incident.
Bodyworn footage played on Monday showed an officer picking up a long gas lighter from the ground moments after Omishore fell from the bridge. Statements made by the force on the day of the incident and the day after made no mention of the item recovered being a firelighter rather than a screwdriver.
The family of Omishore, who was known to them as Deji, also paid tribute to a “kind and gentle soul” who “had his struggles”. In a statement, his father said Deji left home at 19 or 20 and had been in and out of their lives until he was estranged from them for over a decade. In 2021, he said the family’s “years of prayer were finally answered” when Deji’s sister reconnected with him online.
“Deji was especially fond of his new niece, whose photo he proudly kept as his phone wallpaper,” said his father. “One week before his death, on a visit to his flat by his sister and her husband, Oladeji held his baby niece in his arms, telling his sister after how he cherished this moment. None of us imagined that it would be his last time holding her.”
Omishore had a history of drug addiction but had sought help. He was declared drug free in March 2022 after being successfully discharged from rehab, but a few days before his death, Demi told his sister that he didn’t want to see the family and failed to respond to further messages.
“The pain of his loss is indescribable to our family, and the haunting manner of his death is a memory we cannot erase. As a family, we continue to seek justice and answers, knowing that while we cannot bring him back – we can do that,” his father said.
The inquest continues.
