Police Tase Blind UK Man After Mistaking Him for Samurai

"Oops."

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Police in Lancashire are in apology mode after mistaking a blind man with a white cane for a sword-wielding samurai threatening public safety. Police responded to reports of someone walking through Chorley with a samurai sword, but when they arrived at the scene, they only saw 61-year-old Colin Farmer, who was reportedly walking at a "snail's pace" with a white cane.

Rather than ask questions, they hit Farmer in the back with a 50,000-volt Taser and cuffed him as he hit the ground, all while he attempted to explain that he's blind. He was taken to a hospital, where police stayed with him and later drove him to a friend's house. Guess they felt bad.

The police department apologized for the attack, and an investigation has been launched by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. There's a bright side to this, however: Police eventually caught up with a 27-year-old man with a samurai sword who was briefly detained on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly with the aforementioned weapon.

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[via Gawker]

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