Blind man Tasered by police who thought his white stick was a samurai sword

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/lancashire-police-sorry-for-using-taser-on-blind-man-colin-farmer-in-chorley.html Blind man Tasered by police who thought his white stick was a samurai sword By Simon Garner | Yahoo! News – 2 hours 15 minutes ago A blind man had to be rushed to hospital after police Tasered him because they mistakenly thought his white stick was a samurai sword. Blind Man Tasered: Police Mistake Stick For Sword (Picture: Sky News) Poor Colin Farmer, 61, was on his way to a pub in the centre of Chorley when he was stunned by police, who had received reports of a man walking through the town with a sword. Mr Farmer said he feared he was under attack from 'hooligans'. He told The Daily Telegraph: "I just felt this thump in my back. As soon as the Taser hit me I hit the ground. "I hit my head on the floor, then this policeman came around. I said 'I'm blind, I'm blind. I'm blind'." Mr Farmer, who has suffered two strokes in the past, was later discharged from hospital, but added: "I was absolutely terrified. "I thought any second I'm going to have another stroke and this one will kill me." Chief Superintendent, Stuart Williams, of Lancashire Police, said his force was 'extremely sorry' for what had happened. He said: "On Friday evening we received a number of reports that a man was walking through Chorley armed with a samurai sword. A description of the offender was circulated to officers and patrols were sent to look for the man. "One of the officers who arrived in Chorley 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 that this man was not the person we were looking for and officers attended to him straight away. He was taken Chorley Hospital by police officers who stayed with him whilst 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 for that. Officers have remained in contact with him and his family over the past few days to enquire about his recovery and we will continue to keep in touch with him and keep him informed of our inquiry." Lancashire Police have launched an investigation into the incident and have also referred it to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.