Colin Farmer, 63, is a blind stroke victim who uses a standard white stick to walk. Farmer suddenly found himself on the ground in Lancashire, England after a police officer thought he was brandishing a samurai sword. He shot Farmer in the back with a 50,000-volt Taser stun gun.
Farmer, 63, was on his way to a pub to meet friends and, due to two prior strokes, moved quite slowly. He fell to the ground in shock on October 12th and only found out later that an officer had shot him.
He is seeking damages for assault, false imprisonment and a breach of his human rights. The police department is still investigating though all of the staring at the cane is unlikely to turn into anything that looks like a samurai sword.
Source: Independent
Reposting:
Posted to Corrections by:
John 1, January 25, 2013 at 10:53 am
It’s not just Chicago-area police who are out of hand: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130124/NEWS01/301240038/Lieutenant-colonel-sues-Louisville-police-alleging-assault
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Thanks, John.
cop thought my video camera was a bazooka!
That would have confused the blind man thinking; can that officer be talking to me thinking, Nah he can’t can’t be talking to me. The police thinks the blind man is not complying. He then pulls out his gun to kill him. Caption reads; police tell man to put down Samurai sword. Irate out of control Man brandishes wreapon threatening a police officer. Man refuses to obey the repeated commands to throw down the weapon. Officer of the law opens fire. Police are Justified in killing a man with deadly Samurai sword.
Not to mention! Since they got him in the back, why didn’t they just ”step back a step or two” and tell him to gently lay his ”sword” on the ground?
That would have confused the blind man thinking; can that officer be talking to me thinking Nah he can’t can’t be. talking to me. The police thinks the blind man is not complying. He then pulls out his gun to kill him. Caption reads; Police tell man to put down Samurai sword. Irate out of control Man brandishes wreapon threatening a police officer. Man refuses to obey the repeated commands to throw down the weapon. Officer of the law. open fire. Police are Justified in killing a man with deadly Samurai sword.
OK, that’s the second one I’ve seen where the cops in England attacked someone they thought had a sword. What’s the deal? Does everyone in England carry a sword now since they can’t carry heat? So the cops are EXPECTING a sword around every corner? Maybe they should just outlaw swords like they outlawed guns over there, and then the cops won’t have to worry about all these swordwielding old men!
It won’t end there. Have fearful paranoid police, and things will get worse, and no matter what anyone does getting rid of weapons. The police will continue to hallucinate.
If the hiring agent, whoever that is, cannot choose and instruct officers better than this –maybe there are two positions that need filling.
Bron, What do they say? “Let’s give this a$$hole the clap.”
dredd:
did you know that bacteria communicate?
The Royals are evidently worried about major league killings that are going on.
That is, if a scientific paper in The Proceedings of The Royal Society are an indication.
Fear makes people hallucinate.
Get the Police Superintendent and put the Taser barrel in his arse until he cannot see straight.
Taser is a deadly weapon. Stop. Taser is a deadly weapon. Stop. Taser is a deadly weapon.
The use of deadly force is only justified when?
a. Old guy with cane is too slow?
b. Guy named Adam has an automatic weapon and is shooting kids.
c. Kids are frolicking in the park where there is a “no frolicking” sign.
shano,
So do I. (And I agree that the student settlement wasn’t sufficient.)
Hope he wins a million bucks like these college students (although I do not think this settlement was big or painful enough:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/01/09/18729789.php
How can the cop who’s close enough to taser the guy cannot see the difference between a cane and a samurai sword? Why did the cop not call out to the guy before tasering him in the back? Even if it was a samurai sword, is it illegal to possess one in public if you’re not brandishing it against someone?
The people that came up with illegal are mentally ill.
ospreysun – “I’m starting to wonder if there isn’t some sort of Undiagnosed Stress related Psychological Condition that some Police officers develop that unhinges their Reasoning Skills.”
It’s called standard training procedures. Militaries and para-military groups brainwash recruits into having a superiority complex and viewing non-members as worth less than themselves or even as subhuman. They are not just taught but encouraged to use excessive violence against those weaker than themselves, and only to protect fellow terrorists who wear the same uniform.
This video well explains the brainwashing and military mentalities:
“War with Gwynne Dyer, Part 2: Anybody’s Son Will Do”
http://youtu.be/P_G2u1RrLOk
I saw first hand the encouragement of hypocrisy and violence in “police training”, It’s why I quit, it contradicted with my own sense of right and wrong, my view that all people have the same rights. And why I have absolutely no trust for any of them.
thank god there are not English policeman on golf courses.
… Also, it wouldn’t hurt to include annual Optician Visits to their Health Insurance plans.
After reading the many incidents of Police Abuse on this blog, I’m starting to wonder if there isn’t some sort of Undiagnosed Stress related Psychological Condition that some Police officers develop that unhinges their Reasoning Skills.
Add to that a Culture of Militarized Power and we end up with a Volatile Mixture where the Police become a Menace to Society.
No cop ever f@cked w/ John Belushi and his Samurai sword.