Apology call after
blind man
Tasered

Colin Farmer, 64, was hit with the stun gun in Chorley, Lancashire, by Pc Stuart Wright in October 2012 as he walked to his local pub.

Mr Farmer, who thought he was suffering a stroke, was then handcuffed by the police constable, who had responded to reports of a man in the town centre with a sword.

He was walking away from Pc Wright and posed no threat, an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found.

Mr Farmer was handcuffed while lying on the ground and was not released until the arrival of another officer whom Pc Wright told: “I think I’ve got the wrong person”, said the IPCC.

A report from the police watchdog found Pc Wright failed to take reasonable steps to ascertain if Mr Farmer was carrying a sword before he discharged the Taser.

He had used a level of force that was “unnecessary and disproportionate” and caused further distress by detaining him in handcuffs despite it being “obvious” he had the wrong man, it added.

Pc Wright also ignored instructions and radio transmissions about how to deal with the incident, and failed to comply with local and national guidelines on the use of Taser.

Lancashire Constabulary held a two-day disciplinary hearing that has now concluded, following a recommendation from the IPCC that the officer had a case to answer for gross misconduct.

That meeting concluded that Pc Wright was not guilty of “gross incompetence” but should be issued with a performance improvement notice and that he be told to apologise personally to Mr Farmer.