A jury has concluded that police failings “contributed” to the death of a 23-year-old man who drowned in the River Thames after fleeing from officers in Kingston, south-west London.
Liam Allan died in August 2022 after jumping into the river while trying to escape from Metropolitan Police officers who were attempting to arrest him for a potential bail breach.
An inquest heard that officers failed to spot a nearby lifebuoy that could have been used to rescue Mr Allan, and waited seven minutes before deploying a throwline after he entered the water. The jury found these omissions “possibly more than minimally contributed” to his death.
The two-week inquest, which concluded on Wednesday, determined Mr Allan’s death was accidental. However, the jury identified “inadequacies” in both his arrest and the subsequent rescue attempt that “probably more than minimally” contributed to the tragedy.
On the night of the incident, police were called to Kingston Bridge following reports of an altercation between a group.
They apprehended the three men and a woman, and it became apparent Mr Allan had a relationship with the woman and the two had been together that evening, potentially placing them both in breach of their respective pre-existing bail conditions, so Mr Allan was arrested.
He then ran from the officer and immediately entered the Thames at Kingston Bridge and began to experience difficulty in the water.
The arresting officer shouted out to Mr Allan that he was ‘only making things worse for himself’ as he tried to encourage him back to the riverbank.
As the incident unfolded, the officers on the scene failed to notice a lifebuoy beside Mr Allan’s entry point to the river and the jury concluded this ‘possibly more than minimally contributed to his death.’ A throwline was used seven minutes after Mr Allan entered the water and approximately three minutes after he began to shout for help. He was not in handcuffs as he went into the water.
He was recovered from the water by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and London Fire Brigade and was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation also found that an officer failed to check Mr Allan’s police record, which carried an “escaper” warning marker, before attempting to arrest him.
Despite the identified failings, the IOPC found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or grounds for disciplinary action against any of the officers involved.
IOPC regional director Mel Palmer said: “We send our condolences to the family and friends of Liam Allan and all those affected by this incident.
“This was an extremely challenging situation where Liam had gone into the water at night-time and the officers at the scene attempted to communicate with him to persuade him to return to the riverbank.
“They all followed the Met’s policies and procedures by not entering the water, talking to Liam and then throwing a line to him. We note the jury concluded the arresting officer’s communication was unsuitable but that it did not contribute or only minimally contributed to Liam’s death, as it cannot be determined whether Liam would have responded to the communication.
“Unfortunately, as the incident was developing the officers did not check for a lifebuoy. A prompt to check for a lifebuoy, which usually comes from the control room, was sadly not forthcoming. We have made learning recommendations to the Met with the aim of preventing such an incident being repeated.”
In light of the tragedy grab lines have been put around the arches at the base of Kingston bridge, making it easier for anyone who ends up in the water to hold on – potentially saving their life. It’s thought Liam went through an arch as he struggled against the dangerous currents, before he was sadly found dead on the riverbed in the same spot he was last seen shouting for help.
Liam’s step-mum Leanne previously told MyLondon: “We are grateful for the lines being installed, but it’s a shame something so simple wasn’t already in place. It makes sense to have something so effective in place at all major bridges and these are what could have saved Liam’s life when he was yelling for help so close to arch.
“It’s nice to know that they will save other people in the future, and that will all be down to Liam, he has left a legacy that’ll never be forgotten. It’s a big step forward in the saving of other lives.”
Over the course of the investigation witness statements were taken from police officers, other emergency services who attended the scene and members of the public who witnessed the incident.
CCTV footage and police officers’ body-worn camera footage were analysed and compared, along with local and national policing policies, radio transmissions and call recordings.
The IOPC said they found individual learning for the six officers at the incident in relation to checking for buoyancy aids as part of their dynamic risk assessments when dealing with water-based incidents. They also recommended the staff in the control room who dealt with the incident should receive refresher training on dealing with water-based incidents.
The IOPC added that they also found organisational learning for the force, recommending that the Met should issue further guidance to remind its control room staff of the importance of using a system code to generate a prompt which can assist officers responding to a water-based incident. The other recommendations can be seen here.
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