Investigation and inquest
An investigation was commenced into the death of Liam Stephen Allan aged 23. The investigation concluded on 17 January 2025. The conclusion in the inquest was:
Liam's death was an accident. However, there were some inadequacies by the Police in his arrest and the subsequent rescue attempt that probably more than minimally contributed to his death. Additionally, there were failures and omissions in the rescue of Liam that possibly, more than minimally, contributed to his death.
The medical cause of death was
1a Drowning / Immersion
Circumstances of the death
Liam was arrested by a Police Officer alongside the River Thames on the evening of 26 August 2022. Liam then jumped into the river from the riverside and subsequently drowned. The arresting officer did not notice a buoyancy aid that was on a bridge by the stairs. This possibly, more than minimally, contributed to the death. Further arriving officers failed to notice and observe the buoyancy aid. This failure did not contribute to the death. Numerous police officers gave evidence that they did not see the buoyancy aid because it was very dark.
The response by the police service to the first radio transmission by the arresting officer after Liam entered the water was broadly timely and appropriate with regard to the relevant resources being notified. This was done via electronic messaging from the Police Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system to most emergency services, such as the RNLI and the London Ambulance Service (LAS). However, notification to the London Fire Brigade (LFB) by the Police has to be done by telephone as the LFB does not use the more rapid CAD-mediated system to transfer vital life-saving information to it. The evidence heard at the inquest was that this delays transmission of information to the LFB from the Police by 90 to 120 seconds.
Coroner’s concerns
The lighting of buoyancy aids on the riverside is not adequate, meaning that they are not able to be identified rapidly and then deployed without delay in an emergency situation.
Buoyancy aids are more visible when painted with white stripes and/or reflective white stripes. However, not all buoyancy aids are so painted, meaning that they are not able to be identified rapidly and then deployed without delay in an emergency situation.
The process for alerting the LFB by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) uses a telephone to transmit information from the MPS to the LFB, rather than using a CAD-mediated system to transfer information electronically from the Police to the LFB which is faster than transmitting information by telephone. This delay means that there is a risk that future deaths could occur due to a delay in the LFB being alerted by the Police and a corresponding delay to the LFB's subsequent response to an emergency incident.