Investigation is launched after HANDCUFFED body of man, 22, who fled police two months ago as they ‘tried to search him for drugs’ is found in river by a magnet fisherman
A man who ran off when he was stopped and handcuffed by police was later found dead in a river still wearing the handcuffs, it emerged today.
The 22-year-old got away from officers when he was stopped by police in Southampton on January 12 as part of a drugs investigation.
More than two months later, his body was discovered in the River Itchen in the Woodmill area of the city on Sunday by a magnet fisherman.
A man whose body was found in the River Ichen in Southampton had been handcuffed by police before he died, it emerged today
It is unclear whether the man fell in the water during his escape from the police, but officers say they are not treating his death as suspicious.
A police spokesman said: ‘Initial enquiries suggest the body had been in the water for some time.’
Despite the circumstances leading up to the man’s death, the The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is not investigating, leaving the matter to an internal inquiry by the Hampshire force.
A spokesman for Hampshire Police said: ‘We were called at 6.19pm on Sunday 17 March, after the body of a man was located in the River Itchen at Woodmill, Southampton.
‘Identification has now taken place and we can confirm that the body is of a 22-year-old man from Southampton.
‘We can confirm that he was handcuffed, having been detained by police in Southampton on 12 January.
‘The death is not being treated as suspicious at this time. An internal review is ongoing and a file is being prepared for the coroner.’