Appeal to find relatives of Peckham man who fell to death from balcony after police Taser used
An appeal has been put out to find relatives of a man who fell to his death from a balcony shortly after an incident with Met police officers in which a Taser was used.
At an inquest opening at Southwark Coroner’s Court earlier this month, the man was formally identified as Zodoq Obatolah, who was aged 52.
Two cops are now under criminal investigation for gross negligence manslaughter after Mr Obatolah’s death on April 12.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said police forced entry to the flat in Rye Hill Park, Peckham, at around 2am after reports of a man making threats to jump from a balcony.
They reportedly tried to persuade the man to come inside from the balcony and requested that a police negotiator attend the scene.
Over the course of the next hour, some officers left the flat and two remained inside.
The IOPC said in a statement in May that “evidence at this stage indicates that an officer discharged their Taser, shortly before the man fell from the balcony railing at around 3.20am”.
The man fell five floors to the ground and was transported to hospital with critical injuries where he died later that day.
An IOPC spokesman said the officers were still under criminal investigation and there were no updates to report.
The IOPC is now appealing to the public in an attempt to identify any relatives of Mr Obatolah.
Following the incident, the Met and the coroner’s office made extensive efforts to confirm the man’s identity and search for next of kin, said the IOPC.
IOPC regional director Mel Palmer said: “While it is positive that Mr Obatolah has been identified, we are extremely keen to identify his relatives.
“As part of our efforts so far we have conducted house-to-house enquiries as well as a witness appeal.
“We want to do everything we can to locate any relatives so that we can speak to them about Mr Obatolah’s death and our ongoing investigation.”
A spokesman for the IOPC said: “Anyone with information relating to Zodoq Obatolah or his family is urged to contact the IOPC by emailing operationacresford@
(Picture: The Met)
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