Man who shot himself in front of police identified as Metropolitan Police employee

A man who died after shooting himself in front of police has been named as a Metropolitan Police employee. Tony Hanley died at St George's Hospital in Tooting after the shooting on 30 January.

Police were called to the 51-year-old's home after reports of a man with a gun threatening to harm himself and others. They arrived at the home in Melbourne Road shortly after 8pm, however, Hanley was not there. Police instead found him on nearby Bridge Road with a firearm and following an unsuccessful negotiation attempt, a Taser and two baton rounds was used on Hanley by officers. Hanley then shot himself.

Tom Milsom, associate commissioner at the Independent Police Complaints Commission, said: "The IPCC are examining the sequence of events which followed the phone call to police, the actions of the responding police officers and any background information regarding Mr Hanley's health which may assist in understanding his behaviour."

Police are believed to have conducted first aid on Hanley at the scene before paramedics arrived. He was taken to hospital in critical condition and died the following morning at 6.10am. Investigations into the source of Hanley's non-police firearm are believed to be ongoing, the Evening Standard reported.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Service said that the IPCC is carrying out an independent investigation into the circumstances of the event. It is believed that they have viewed footage from body-worn video cameras and CCTV cameras, as well as spoken to eye witnesses.