THE inquest into the death of the 17 year old boy, Jack Susiant, who drowned in the Lee last year heard that police stood by refusing to enter the water to save him.
Eyewitnesses told that the police that attended after the mother's 999 call stood by the waterway refusing to enter and also prevented witnesses entering to save the boy saying it was not safe to do so, with Jack eventually drowning.
Deny
One witness told the inquest that he overhead a police officer asking his superior if 'he was happy for us to go in' and that he needed an answer as the boy was drowning. The witness added that no officer went into the water, though the Metropolitan Police deny this.
The mother, Mrs Susiant, told that she regretted calling 999, as she believed that Jack seeing the police officers would have thought they were chasing him. The previous day he had turned violent and erratic, attacking his brother which was completely out of character, and disappeared from home. Traces of cannabis and amphetamines where found in his system.