An innocent blind man from North-West England was struck with a 50,000 volt taser by a police office who mistook his white walking stick for a samurai sword.
Colin Farmer, 62, was innocently walking down a street to his local pub when the incident occurred at around 5.45 pm. Police were on the look out for a man with a sword who had been reported walking through Chorley, Lancashire, early on Friday evening.
Farmer stated, ” I was just walking along and I heard some men shouting really angrily and thought I’m going to get mugged. I didn’t know any police were here.”
“The Tasaer hit me in the back and it started sending all these thousands of volts through me and I was terrified.” He added, ” I mean I had two strokes already caused by stress. I dropped the stick involuntarily and I collapsed on the floor face down.”
Farmer had been in hospital as recently as March after suffering his latest stroke, and was required to spend two months inside the establishment in order to recuperate. He’s now stated that he fears he might suffer another stroke and is now scared to leave his premises and walk the streets.
“I walk at a snails pace. They could have walked past me, driven past me in a van or said ‘drop your weapon’.” Lancashire Police have since apologised to Farmer but an Independent Police Complaints Commission is already in progress and they have appealed for witness’ to the ordeal. A 27-year-old man was later arrested carrying a samurai sword and arrested for being drunk and disorderly.