Following a routine police patrol on Friday, police descended on Kingston Bridge at around 10.30pm to intervene in a verbal dispute involving a man and a woman who were known to each other. Scotland Yard said an allegation of theft was made and police were in the process of arresting the man when he entered the water. He had not been handcuffed, the force added. The Met’s marine policing unit, the National Police Aviation Service, the London Fire Brigade and the RNLI were involved in searches to locate the man. He was pulled from the water at about 12.30am on Saturday and treated by paramedics but pronounced dead at the scene. The police cordon remains in place as inquiries continue and the man’s family have been informed. The Met said its Professional Standards Directorate had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The IOPC is conducting an independent investigation. Laurence Taylor, deputy assistant commissioner at the Met, said: “My thoughts and those of the Metropolitan Police Service are with the friends and family of the man who sadly lost his life following this incident. “I fully appreciate that the public will be very concerned. We naturally share this concern. The Met’s professional standards directorate made an immediate referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, as is the protocol in any incident where a person is injured after coming into contact with the police. “We will fully support the IOPC investigation.”
