A man in his 20s has died after falling into the River Thames while being arrested by police.
Following a routine police patrol on Friday police were flagged down on Kingston Bridge at around 10.30pm to intervene in a verbal altercation which involved 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 placed in handcuffs, the force added.
The Met’s marine policing unit, the National Police Air Service, London fire brigade and the RNLI were involved in a search to find the man.
He was recovered from the water at about 12.30am on Saturday and treated by paramedics but was pronounced dead at the scene.
A police cordon remains in place as inquiries are ongoing and the man’s family have been informed.
The Met said its directorate of professional standards had made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The IOPC is conducting an independent investigation.
Laurence Taylor, a deputy assistant commissioner with the Met, said: “My thoughts, and those of the Metropolitan Police Service, are with the friends and family of the man who has sadly lost his life following this incident.
“I fully appreciate the public will be very concerned. We of course share that concern. The Met’s directorate of professional standards made an immediate referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as is protocol in any incident in which a person comes to harm following police contact.
“We will fully support the IOPC’s investigation.”
