Met cops under investigation over death of man who fell from balcony after being Tasered

The police watchdog has opened an investigation into a group of Met cops after a man was Tasered before he fell from a balcony to his death.

The Met were called to a flat in Peckham at around 1.25am on Wednesday where a man was threatening to jump from a balcony.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said officers tried to talk the man down for more than an hour. The man was then Tasered by an officer while on the balcony and later fell “several floors to the ground”.

The man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and died later the same day.

A spokesman for the Met said “a Taser was discharged by an officer on the balcony” but did not specify whether that was the cause of the fall.

Detective Chief Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh, in charge of policing for Lambeth and Southwark, said: “I know the community will be concerned about this tragic death and I share their concern. All police officers know that their actions will be scrutinised in situations such as these, and the Met is fully supporting the independent investigation by the IOPC.”

The Met spokesman added: “Enquiries are under way to identify the man’s next of kin. Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course.

“A mandatory referral was made to the IOPC. The IOPC has launched an independent investigation and we are unable to comment further while this takes place.”

IOPC said it was reviewing body camera footage to understand what happened and that the investigation was in its “initial stages”.

An IOPC spokesman said: “We have begun an independent investigation into an incident involving Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers on Wednesday in southeast London, where a man was seriously injured and later died in hospital after falling from a balcony.

“We have established that officers were present for over an hour and attempted to persuade the man to come inside from the balcony.

“The man has then been Tasered while on the balcony and he has fallen several floors to the ground. The man was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries and died later the same day.

“We received a mandatory referral from the force and declared an independent investigation the next day. Our investigation is in its initial stages and we have secured officers’ body worn footage as we begin gathering evidence.”

(Picture: The Met)