Vulnerable man who drowned after being Tasered by police ‘wasn’t posing threat’
The grieving family of a man who died after being Tasered want answers and are considering legal action.
Oladeji Omishore jumped from the Chelsea Bridge after being confronted by officers when, his family say, he was ‘enduring a suspected mental health crisis’.
The 41-year-old was seen shouting and holding up a lighter on the west London bridge on June 4.
He was pulled from the Thames and later died in hospital.
Mr Omishore’s loved ones, who say they discovered what had happened to him after seeing a video online, are considering launching legal action against the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
His sister told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme that ‘our loved one was treated very inhumanely, in our view’ and that they want to press the watchdog to launch a full investigation into the incident.
Aisha Omishore said he was ‘not posing a threat to any member of the public and was subjected to multiple use of Taser’.
After the incident, Met officers collected his mother and revealed Mr Omishore was in a grave condition ‘a few hours’ later but did not mention he had been in contact with police or Tasered, she claimed.
Aisha continued: ‘Events of that day were captured on camera by a bystander and circulated on social media and that’s how we as a family actually found out what happened to my brother.’
A Met statement issued shortly after the incident said he had been holding a screwdriver but the force later retracted that claim.
Aisha continued: ‘We still find it deeply upsetting that inaccurate statement was issued in the Met’s original press release.
‘That information wasn’t cleared up with us for a number of days and caused a lot of pain and anguish when we should have been grieving’.
The family, who are crowdfunding for the legal action, said in a statement issued through the charity Inquest: ‘Deji was only a few moments’ walk from his home and appears to have been vulnerable and frightened.
‘The two Metropolitan Police officers who confronted him used repeated force on him which we consider was excessive and unjustified.
‘We want those officers to explain why they did not use their training to de-escalate the situation and safeguard Deji, instead of taking the actions that led to his tragic death.’
Deborah Coles, director of Inquest, said: ‘It is vital that conduct or criminal investigations are commenced urgently after a death to ensure scrutiny is thorough and that officers are rightly treated as subjects of investigations, not just witnesses.
‘This is an issue which has impacted bereaved families for years.
‘This legal action from the Omishore family is an important step in challenging this systemic issue in the investigation of deaths in police contact.’
An Independent Office for Police Conduct spokesperson said the watchdog is carefully considering correspondence from the family’s lawyers and the case is ‘under constant review’ should new evidence emerge.
It continued: ‘At this stage we have no indication that any of the officers involved may have breached police professional standards or committed a criminal offence.
‘This will be kept under review during the investigation.
‘We will work to complete the investigation as quickly as possible and we are carrying out a thorough and robust examination of all the evidence.
‘We are committed to keeping Mr Omishore’s family updated.’
A spokesperson for the Met said: ‘This was a tragic incident and our sympathies are with Mr Omishore’s family.
‘This matter is subject to an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
‘We are co-operating fully with the IOPC’s investigation and their findings will be released in due course.’
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