Investigation launched as man left ‘critical’ following discharge of police firearms

A “robust” investigation has been promised after the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) referred the incident on Monday night (March 19) to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

After viewing body-worn video footage, the IOPC has also confirmed that a “non-police issue” firearm has been recovered from the incident scene.

Officers were called to an alleged armed robbery of a vehicle at 10.50pm. They recovered evidence linking the robbery to a house in Mandeville Street, Hackney.

The force initially reported a “police firearm was discharged” and the man was taken to the Royal London Hospital. No one else was injured.

In the early hours of Tuesday (March 20), the IOPC launched its investigation as regional director Jonathan Green said a man had been taken to the Royal London Hospital in a critical condition.

In a statement on Tuesday, the IOPC said: “Our investigators have been at the scene overnight and throughout today carefully overseeing the collection of forensic evidence and have attended post incident procedures where key witness accounts from officers were provided.

“We have also been provided with a large amount of body worn video footage some of which we have viewed and we will continue to do so over coming days to establish the sequence of events which culminated in this serious incident.

“We have been able to verify that six officers discharged their weapons a total of 13 times during the incident and can confirm that a non-police issue firearm was recovered from the scene.

“We will be conducting a robust independent investigation to find out the circumstances leading up to the firing of the weapons and the actions of officers immediately afterwards.”

The MPS confirmed its Directorate of Professional Standards had been informed and the incident referred to the IOPC.