By James Simons-
Manchester police have expressed regret for Tasering a blind man last Thursday.
Armed police hit the unnamed blind 43-year-old with a stun gun as he waited at Levenshulme railway station on Thursday night.
Armed officers from Greater Manchester Police had rushed to the scene with police dogs, after a witness on the platform called to claim they had seen a man with a gun.
It turned out the gun was the blind man’s cane folded up as the man waited on the platform for a train. Police said on Friday that the way the came as folded up made it look like a gun.
CHALLENGE
However, police said a cop fired a Taser stun gun carrying a 50,000-volt charge, at the man when he failed to respond to a challenge.
Greater Manchester police said two witnesses and armed officers believed the man was acting in ” an agitated manner but did not detail precisely how he was behaving that led them to taser him.
In an earlier statement on Friday, Manchester police said he refused to respond to a challenge.
Witnesses said they heard police ask him to lie on the ground, yet a blind man will have been expected to communicate to them that he was blind.
However, when the eye of media.com asked Manchester police whether the blind man communicated the fact he was blind to them, no straight answer was forthcoming.
UNCERTAIN
Their press officer was uncertain of those facts, which was expected to be provided in an updated statement later.
The subsequent statement, among other things, said the blind man accepted his behaviour may have caused concern, but the facts about the behaviour in question remain unknown.
“In the circumstances and with the information available at the time, Manchester police said they believe the correct action was taken.
DEVELOP
Police said they intend to use the experience to develop procedures in future and have reported it to professional standards – the independent body which regulates the police. Manchester police added that they would be taking no more interviews about the incidence.
The eye of media.com will be following up the investigation by the professional standards because a bit more answers are required.