A man has died after falling into the River Thames during a police arrest. Officers patrolling Kingston-upon-Thames, southwest London, were alerted by a member of the public of a verbal altercation between a man and a woman who were familiar with each other.
Cops attempted to detain the man after an allegation of theft was made against him, at which point he "entered" the water at Kingston Bridge. The incident took place at roughly 10.30pm yesterday, the Mirror reports.
The man, in his 20s, had not been placed in handcuffs at the time, Metropolitan Police said. Multiple agencies were scrambled to locate the individual, including the Met's Marine Policing Unit, National Police Air Service, London Fire Brigade and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
The man was recovered from the water at around 12.30am today and treated by paramedics, but 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 full Met Police statement reads: "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.
"A multi-agency response to locate the man was launched, involving 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 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."
Kingston Bridge takes traffic over the river and into the town centre in the east, and vehicles west past Hampton Court Palace and towards Surrey. It comes after a man died after being Tasered by police and falling into River Thames near Chelsea, southwest London, in June.
An independent inquiry has also started after that man, who was in his 40s, died in hospital.
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