Police use taser on blind man after mistaking white stick for samurai sword

A BLIND stroke victim said he thought he was going to die when he was shot in the back with a 50,000-volt Taser stun gun by an officer who mistook his white stick for a Samurai sword.
Colin Farmer (61) collapsed to the ground in shock and believed he was having another stroke which could prove fatal.

The police blunder happened as reports were received of a man walking through the town centre of Chorley, Lancashire, in England with the martial arts weapon.

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 did not realise anything was afoot.

Mr Farmer said he heard shouting on the street but did not know what it was about and thought he was going to be attacked by "some hooligans".

He was then struck by the Taser and fell to the ground in Peter Street, and dropped his white stick on the floor, before a policeman handcuffed him.

[link to www.independent.ie]