Man who fell into Thames after being tasered, dies at hospital

A man who fell into the River Thames after being tasered by police officers, passed away during treatment at a hospital, according to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The police were called to Chelsea Bridge in London on Saturday morning after a man armed with a screwdriver was seen shouting and screaming.

The police said that they challenged the man on the bridge and tasered him, but that "did not enable the officers to safely detain him." The man, in his early 40s, jumped into the river and was later rescued by the authorities. He was immediately rushed to a hospital but eventually passed away.

A video going viral on social media shows the man getting up after being tasered by the police and running to the side of the bridge before jumping off into the river, per a report in the BBC.

The IOPC has launched an independent inquiry into the case. "Initial information indicates that officers were responding to reports of a disturbance when they encountered the man on the bridge. During the incident taser was deployed," read the statement from IOPC.

"Investigators have secured police body-worn video footage and initial accounts have been obtained from the officers involved. The taser used has also been gathered and will be analysed. Investigators have overseen forensic examination of the scene," it added.

IOPC director Steve Noonan has said that the police have been in touch with the deceased man's family and have explained their involvement in the case.

"The Met's directorate of professional standards made an immediate referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct following this sad incident, and we will cooperate fully with them as they work to understand the full circumstances," added officer Noonan.

This isn't the first time that the police have come under heavy scrutiny when it comes to the use of stun guns. A Met police officer had shot a 10-year-old girl with such a weapon after he received reports that the girl was threatening a woman with garden shears and a hammer in February this year.

In a similar incident reported from Wisconsin in 2017, police officers firing tasers at a naked suspect set him on fire after one shot sparked a "small flame burst" when it hit a lighter.