Police Taser Innocent Blind Man With 50,000 Volts Stun Gun

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Mark Andrews

An innocent blind man with a white stick has been shot in the back by police with a 50,000-volt Taser after officers mistook it for a samurai sword.

Police Taser blind man mistaking his white stick for a samurai sword | UK news | guardian.co.uk

Samurai sword? Which one is the blind man, the one with the white stick or the one with the taser?!

I will say this, though. British law enforcement is a lot more polite than American cops. When they mess up like this in America most of the time they don't bother to apologize!

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zimo

12 years ago

I would love it if this happened to me. It's just a question of how much free money this guy is going to get.

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laurencewins

12 years ago

The irony is that they DID find someone with a samurai sword later...but how dumb are the cops to assume without really checking it out thoroughly. They could have killed the poor guy.

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HeySal

12 years ago

As he said, too - he moves slow. It baffles me the lack of intelligence our modern officers have. We used to have to watch TV to see cops behave like total baffoons. I'm wondering if the Keystone Cop movies are now used as training films or what.

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Kay King 12 years ago

At what point would you perceive a 61 year old man walking slowly to be a 27 year old drunk and disorderly with a sword? Really dumb mistake.
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JamesColin

Banned 12 years ago

It's sad that this is nowadays only newsworthy because of the word BLIND and not even INNOCENT..

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seasoned

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Mark Andrews

An innocent blind man with a white stick has been shot in the back by police with a 50,000-volt Taser after officers mistook it for a samurai sword.

Police Taser blind man mistaking his white stick for a samurai sword | UK news | guardian.co.uk

MOST swords are ****NOT**** metal!(toys, props, displays, etc....) Most that ARE metal are NOT sharp!(Many states declare it ILLEGAL to sell such sharpened swords, etc....) Most that ARE sharp will ******NEVER****** be used to hurt anyone!(They are on display or stored) And almost NONE will go more than say 6 feet!(They aren't that large, and the farther you hold it out, the less control you have.) And they would want to maintain control, etc... so the effective range is probably little more than 3 feet.

So even if it WERE a sword, there is NO reason to taser him! The ONLY defense is that they had to arrest him, were incompetent, etc....

BTW ANY company in its right mind make it, and I think many states declared that it should be made, WHITE wih a red tip!

http://www.dmesupplygroup.com/5960.h...FUWo4AodalMAhQ

http://www.mtsmedicalsupply.com/Alum...FQWe4AodAh0AHQ

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200671130985?hlp=false&var=

http://www.restoredliving.com/Three-...FQJx4AodkGsAjg

Isn't that interesting? They ALL look the same! ALSO, many blind people where dark glasses. They ACT differently! How could the police not see that!?!?!?!? WOW, I guess england is different with the canes, but it STILL doesn't look like a sword, and he seems normal, but STILL walks like a guy who is blind.

Steve

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seasoned

12 years ago

And Tasered for 5 MINUTES!? The policeman should be thrown in jail for attempted MURDER!

Steve

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Mark Andrews

Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by seasoned

And Tasered for 5 MINUTES!? The policeman should be thrown in jail for attempted MURDER!

Steve

A taser stun gun doesn't last for 5 minutes Steve. A few seconds at most.

The time though is of no importance, it was still 50,000 volts. And I'm staggered how anyone but a blind man could mistake a blind mans stick for a samurai sword.

It's very sad that there seems to be so many of these 'mistakes' occurring here in the British Isles.

Many years ago here in my home town when it was legal to carry a .22 air rifle a young lad no more than 20 was shot dead on the street by local police.

Then there's the case of that Brazilian young lad who was killed on the London Underground (Tube) by armed police.

Not to mention more recently the Ian Tomlinson case when he was struck with a police baton from behind when he was simply minding his own business. Killed outright by police brutality - another 'mistake', not to mention a few other cases.

And in all these cases the police always seem to get away with it scot free. Disciplinary action maybe for media benefit but no proper punishment for the offenders, yet if a member of the public was to do the same, they receive life imprisonment for murder.

Double standards or what!

Google

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seasoned

12 years ago

[quote=Mark Andrews;7194538]A taser stun gun doesn't last for 5 minutes Steve. A few seconds at most.{/quote]

YEAH, but it COULD likely be used several times. I don't know how long t may be able to be used, but I imagine it is heavy duty.

The time though is of no importance, it was still 50,000 volts. And I'm staggered how anyone but a blind man could mistake a blind mans stick for a samurai sword.

Yeah, he was NOT in danger, even if it were a sword! Such things would be, and really can't be, THROWN!

And in all these cases the police always seem to get away with it scot free. Disciplinary action maybe for media benefit but no proper punishment for the offenders, yet if a member of the public was to do the same, they receive life imprisonment for murder.

Double standards or what!

Google

Yeah, the SAME happens in the US! JACK THE RIPPER is thought to have been, according to one popular theory, hidden by the cops! They stalled, apparently evidence was lost, a suspect wasn't checked out, etc.... So it isn't even NEW!

Steve

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Mark Andrews Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by seasoned

...apparently evidence was lost...

Steve

Nothing new here Steve. the police here will 'conveniently' lose information if it brings them into disrepute.

The Hillsborough Disaster being a typical example where evidence was conveniently lost or falsified to protect the police.

Story here...

Hillsborough disaster: courts to be asked to quash inquest verdicts | Football | guardian.co.uk

Hillsborough disaster: watchdog to launch biggest ever inquiry into police | Football | The Guardian
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LarryC

12 years ago

It's not so farfetched that cops could mistaken a cane for a sword from a distance, especially since they were on the lookout for someone with a samurai sword. However, cops are supposed to be trained to use restraint and to only use force when necessary.

Unless the blind man was actually threatening the police with his "sword," there was no reason for them to taser him. I'm afraid that in the U.S., this incident might have resulted in the man being killed, as the police here carry guns.

We've been hearing so many of these stories lately, coming from all over the world. It seems many cops are either trigger happy or seriously lacking in judgement.

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thunderbird

12 years ago

I guess the IQ criteria for cops in the UK are similar to those of the US?
Too smart to be a good cop | Gene Expression | Discover Magazine

"A man whose bid to become a police officer was rejected after he scored too high on an intelligence test has lost an appeal in his federal lawsuit against the city."

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Dennis Gaskill

12 years ago

Originally Posted by ahlexis

Samurai sword? Which one is the blind man, the one with the white stick or the one with the taser?!

I will say this, though. British law enforcement is a lot more polite than American cops. When they mess up like this in America most of the time they don't bother to apologize!

How would you know that?

Originally Posted by LarryC

Unless the blind man was actually threatening the police with his "sword," there was no reason for them to taser him. I'm afraid that in the U.S., this incident might have resulted in the man being killed, as the police here carry guns.

Many also carry tasers in their squad cars.