Inquest into Lamont Roper’s death concludes

A coroner has ruled that there was no causative link between police actions and the death of a man in Tottenham.

Lamont Roper was found dead in the River Lea, after a stop and search interaction with the Metropolitan Police in October 2020.

Lamont was one of a group of males pursued by three plain clothed MPS Hackney officers patrolling the River Lea towpath, near Markfield Park, in the evening.

The inquest into Lamont’s death was opened by HM Senior Coroner for North London in 2020, and it concluded in December 2021.

The coroner concluded that Lamont was “non-compliant with the police officer’s stop and search request,” and found “no evidence that the actions or inactions of the officers contributed to Mr Roper’s death”.

Lamont’s body was recovered from the water the morning after he entered the canal, as efforts to find him on the night were called off at about midnight.

Suspicions had been raised as to how Lamont ended up in the lock in the first place. His family refute that he would have entered the water voluntarily as he “could not swim and was terrified of water.”

The inquest jury found that there were “inadequate resources for water rescue alongside the canal and at the specific location of the incident, that there was a lack of sufficient police resources – such as throw lines and torches – for officers on patrols, and that there was a lack of specialised on call rescue team divers”.

The Independent Office for Police Investigations (IOPC) concluded its own investigation into Lamont’s death in April 2021. One of the officers involved in the incident was served a notice of investigation at the level of misconduct, for “potential breaches of professional standards” regarding their use of body worn video during the incident.

The officer was subject to a misconduct meeting on 9th September 2021. However, the police state that “the misconduct was not proven” and no further action was taken against the officer.

The IOPC’s report recommended organisational learning in three areas: pursuit training for cycle patrols; equipping officers who patrol near water with throw lines; and refreshing officer training about entering water.

The police say that these learnings have been introduced, or are in the process of being introduced.

Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett, in charge of policing for Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: “This tragic incident saw a young man lose his life and our sympathies remain with Mr Roper’s family and friends.

“We know that this incident has also been difficult for the local community and we have been reaching out to leaders and partners from the outset to keep them updated with developments and hear their views.

“We are a learning organisation and we will now take some time to carefully consider the observations made by the jury and the coroner.”