Blind Man Tasered As Cops Mistake Stick For Sword

[odysseus]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/blind-man-tase ... 23333.html

Blind Man Tasered As Cops Mistake Stick For Sword

A "terrified" blind man was hit with a 50,000 volt Taser gun after police mistook his white stick for a samurai sword.
Stroke victim Colin Farmer, 61, collapsed to the ground in shock after he was hit in the back with the gun while walking down the street in Chorley, Lancashire.
Police had received reports of a man walking through the town armed with the deadly martial arts weapon and raced to the scene to hunt down the offender.
Meanwhile Mr Farmer, who has suffered two strokes and walks at a "snail's pace", was on his way to the pub to meet friends for a drink and was unaware of the reports.
He had no idea a police officer had mistaken his thin white stick for a weapon and ordered him to stop before pulling the trigger on the Taser gun.
Mr Farmer cried out, "I'm blind! I'm blind!" while collapsed on the floor but was still handcuffed by the officer from Lancashire Police.
"I was terrified, I thought I was going to get mugged," he said.
"The next thing I knew, without warning, I got tasered in the middle of my back.
"Fortunately the taser came out, but up until that very moment, I was convinced I was being murdered in plain sight.
"He jumped on the small of my back with his knees, seeing my white can lying by my side.
"I'm shouting at him: 'I'm blind'. He ignored me, wrenched my arms up my back and cuffed my so tightly I was in great pain."
He was taken to Chorley Hospital for treatment and was later released following the incident at about 5.45pm last Friday.
Chief Superintendent Stuart Williams, from Lancashire Police, said: "We received a number of reports that a man was walking through Chorley armed with a samurai sword and patrols were sent to look for the man.
"One of the officers believed he had located the offender. Despite asking the man to stop, he failed to do so and the officer discharged his Taser.
"It then became apparent this man was not the person we were looking for and officers attended to him straight away.
"He was taken Chorley Hospital by officers who stayed while he was checked over by medics. They then took him to meet his friends in Chorley at his request.
"Lancashire Constabulary deeply regrets what has happened. We have clearly put this man through a traumatic experience and we are extremely sorry.
"We have launched an urgent investigation to understand what lessons can be learned and the matter has also been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission."
Mr Farmer is considering legal action against the force.

Are some British police officers turning into the Keystone Cops?.....

[klr]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/blind-man-tase ... 23333.html

Blind Man Tasered As Cops Mistake Stick For Sword

A "terrified" blind man was hit with a 50,000 volt Taser gun after police mistook his white stick for a samurai sword.
Stroke victim Colin Farmer, 61, collapsed to the ground in shock after he was hit in the back with the gun while walking down the street in Chorley, Lancashire.
Police had received reports of a man walking through the town armed with the deadly martial arts weapon and raced to the scene to hunt down the offender.
Meanwhile Mr Farmer, who has suffered two strokes and walks at a "snail's pace", was on his way to the pub to meet friends for a drink and was unaware of the reports.
He had no idea a police officer had mistaken his thin white stick for a weapon and ordered him to stop before pulling the trigger on the Taser gun.
Mr Farmer cried out, "I'm blind! I'm blind!" while collapsed on the floor but was still handcuffed by the officer from Lancashire Police.
"I was terrified, I thought I was going to get mugged," he said.
"The next thing I knew, without warning, I got tasered in the middle of my back.
"Fortunately the taser came out, but up until that very moment, I was convinced I was being murdered in plain sight.
"He jumped on the small of my back with his knees, seeing my white can lying by my side.
"I'm shouting at him: 'I'm blind'. He ignored me, wrenched my arms up my back and cuffed my so tightly I was in great pain."
He was taken to Chorley Hospital for treatment and was later released following the incident at about 5.45pm last Friday.
Chief Superintendent Stuart Williams, from Lancashire Police, said: "We received a number of reports that a man was walking through Chorley armed with a samurai sword and patrols were sent to look for the man.
"One of the officers believed he had located the offender. Despite asking the man to stop, he failed to do so and the officer discharged his Taser.
"It then became apparent this man was not the person we were looking for and officers attended to him straight away.
"He was taken Chorley Hospital by officers who stayed while he was checked over by medics. They then took him to meet his friends in Chorley at his request.
"Lancashire Constabulary deeply regrets what has happened. We have clearly put this man through a traumatic experience and we are extremely sorry.
"We have launched an urgent investigation to understand what lessons can be learned and the matter has also been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission."
Mr Farmer is considering legal action against the force.

Are some British police officers turning into the Keystone Cops?.....

Weasel words.

[Mysturji]

OK, so... remind me: Exactly who was blind here?
BTW...

A man carrying a samurai sword was later arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-la ... e-19979184

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Are some British police officers turning into the Keystone Cops?.....

Weasel words.

Yep - "turning into" implies that an amendment from the status quo is required for British police to resemble the inept, bumbling, silent-film cops thus mentioned - where, obviously, no such alteration is required!

[JimC]

Mr Plod is a clod...

[Ian]

Hey at least the cops only had tasers and the guy lived. If this incident had taken place in Texas, it might be a different story.

[tattuchu]

Blind Fury! :rutgerhauer:

[JimC]

Hey at least the cops only had tasers and the guy lived. If this incident had taken place in Texas, it might be a different story.

Cue Seth in....

[mistermack]

Hey at least the cops only had tasers and the guy lived. If this incident had taken place in Texas, it might be a different story.

Not just Texas in this case.
The British police have killed people carrying harmless objects before now.
This guy was lucky the armed response team didn't get to him first.

At least this exposes the myth of highly trained professionals that we usually get fed when someone gets killed.

[Tyrannical]

Hey at least the cops only had tasers and the guy lived. If this incident had taken place in Texas, it might be a different story.

Cue Seth in....

Probably legal to open carry a sword in Texas

[MrJonno]

Probably not so legal in a psych ward, then again not easy anyway in straight jacket

[SteveB]

Hey at least the cops only had tasers and the guy lived. If this incident had taken place in Texas, it might be a different story.

Cue Seth in....

Probably legal to open carry a sword in Texas

I always carry a samurai sword on my person, you know, to deter the government from oppressing me or summat.

[Sean Hayden]

Ah, we love our tasers in Texas. In fact we're so enlightened that stories of who's been tasered lately, "taser Tuesday", pass for entertainment on our radio stations.

[Thinking Aloud]

I'm not going to say anything about the town I grew up in at this point.

[Mysturji]