A MAN drowned in the River Thames as several officers failed to notice a nearby life buoy, an inquest heard earlier this month.

An officer told 23-year-old Liam Allan: “You’re just making things worse for yourself” as he screamed for help at least seven times.

Jurors at West London Coroner’s Court concluded that police failings contributed to his death.

Officers made no attempt to retrieve a throw line from their vehicle in Kingston, south-west London, the inquest found.

The buoy was used only after an inspector arrived and seven minutes after Mr Allan entered the water at 11.11pm on August 26 2022.

Emergency services retrieved him from the water at 12.26am and paramedics began CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene at 1am.

In a statement issued yesterday, Mr Allan’s father James and  stepmother Leanne said: “Since losing Liam our hearts have been broken and it feels like time has stood still while waiting for the investigation into the Met Police to be completed.” 

Mr Allan was walking by the river when he was questioned by an officer.

He told the officer that he had been the victim of an attempted robbery by three men, who were at the time with the officer’s colleague and Mr Allan’s former partner.

The group made allegations against Mr Allan while being stopped and searched.

Jurors heard that the two officers disagreed but failed to communicate on whether Mr Allan should be arrested.

He replied “why” and ran into the water after being told he was being detained.

The arresting officer missed key markers about Mr Allan and his vulnerabilities when checking the police system, the inquest found.

Police control room failings meant officers were not prompted to look for life-saving equipment.