Family of man who died after being tasered by police set to take legal action against watchdog
18 October 2022, 00:38 | Updated: 18 October 2022, 07:06
The family of a man who died after being tasered by police on a London bridge is set to take legal action against the watchdog.
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Oladeji Omishore died after the confrontation with officers on Chelsea Bridge on June 4 this year, during which he "entered the water". He was holding a plastic and metal firelighter, which officers said was a screwdriver at first.
Mr Omishore is thought to have been going through a mental health crisis, and his family said police should have been protecting him, not using force.
The family 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.
Former Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police
"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."
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The Omishore family has sent "legal correspondence" to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), and want a judicial review of the decision not to hold a criminal or misconduct investigation into his death.
An IOPC spokesperson said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the family and friends of Oladeji Omishore.
"We have received correspondence from the family's legal representatives today which is being carefully considered. During any investigation we keep conduct matters under constant review and take decisions based on the evidence available.
"At this stage we have no indication that any of the officers involved may have breached police professional standards or committed a criminal offence.
Read more: Pictured: Man who died after he fell into Thames after being Tasered by police
"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."
