Camberwell: Man who stabbed himself was Tasered by police

Image source, Google

Image caption, The man may have been suffering from poor mental health, say police

An investigation has been launched after a mentally ill man who stabbed himself was Tasered.

Police were called to an attempted break-in in Camberwell, south-east London, on Tuesday morning where a man in his 50s was brandishing a knife.

Officers forced entry because someone else was at risk, and the man stabbed himself in the chest. He is in a critical but stable condition.

The Met has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Police said a Taser was also used at the residential property on Harleyford Road and part of the investigation would look at the sequence of events.

A Met spokesman said: "The man may have been suffering from poor mental health," and the injury was self-inflicted.

A spokesman for the police watchdog said: "Following an assessment of the information available to us we have begun an independent investigation.

"Our investigators have already started to gather evidence, they have viewed body-worn footage of the incident and will be taking accounts from the officers involved."