A man who was rescued from the Thames after being Tasered by police and later taken to hospital has died.

Police were called to Chelsea Bridge Road, in west London, on Saturday morning after receiving reports that a man was armed with a screwdriver and shouting.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the police watchdog, said the man, aged in his early 40s, had died in hospital and that an independent inquiry was under way.

The IOPC said it is “investigating contact” that Met police officers had with the man prior to him entering the river.

It added: “We were notified by the Metropolitan Police on Saturday and sent investigators to the scene and to the police post incident procedure to begin our investigation.

“Initial information indicates that officers were responding to reports of a disturbance when they encountered the man on the bridge. During the incident Taser was deployed.

“Investigators have secured police body-worn video footage and initial accounts have been obtained from the officers involved. The Taser used has also been gathered and will be analysed. Investigators have overseen forensic examination of the scene.”

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The man was challenged by police on the bridge and was Tasered, but the force said this “did not enable the officers to safely detain him”.

He then entered the river and was rescued by the RNLI and taken to hospital.

IOPC director Steve Noonan said: “We have spoken to the man’s family to express our sincere condolences and explain our involvement. Our sympathies remain with them at this terrible time.

“Our independent investigation is under way into the police actions at the bridge and we have begun gathering and reviewing evidence.”

On Saturday Detective Chief Inspector Rory Wilkinson of the Met’s Central West BCU said: “I understand that there are always concerns about incidents in which people come to harm having been in contact with police.

“All Met officers know that they are accountable for their actions, and a full investigation is under way to establish exactly what happened.”

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