Police hunt Samurai, taser blind man instead

**thrutch** · Posted On: 10/17/2012 11:26am

A police force has apologised after an officer used a Taser on a blind man whose white stick was mistaken for a sword.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-19979184

Easily done I suppose. Not a good story for the few in the UK who still think it's a good idea to arm your everyday bobby in the street.

They caught the samurai btw.

**Fuzzy** · Posted On: 10/17/2012 11:30am

Oh for ****'s sakes guys, pull yourselves towards yourselves.

**Charles Brown** · Posted On: 10/17/2012 11:32am

Hmm, I'm not sure how you drew that conclusion. On the contrary, I'd say that the cops would be impotent and useless if the drunk guy with the sword decided to go on a rampage. It would really be a shame for the police to be able to do nothing about it.

Originally Posted by thrutch

A police force has apologised after an officer used a Taser on a blind man whose white stick was mistaken for a sword.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-19979184

Easily done I suppose. Not a good story for the few in the UK who still think it's a good idea to arm your everyday bobby in the street.

They caught the samurai btw.

**thrutch** · Posted On: 10/17/2012 11:32am

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Oh for ****'s sakes guys, pull yourselves towards yourselves.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...Dutch%20Rudder

??

**thrutch** · Posted On: 10/17/2012 11:36am

Originally Posted by Charles Brown

Hmm, I'm not sure how you drew that conclusion. On the contrary, I'd say that the cops would be impotent and useless if the drunk guy with the sword decided to go on a rampage. It would really be a shame for the police to be able to do nothing about it.

Well, maybe they could taser him?

**goodlun** · Posted On: 10/17/2012 11:40am

Wait who cares about people getting tasered?

**goodlun** · Posted On: 10/17/2012 11:42am

Originally Posted by thrutch

Well, maybe they could taser him?

This would still be an option even if they did have firearms. Depends on the situation on how appropriate it would be to use deadly force.

**thrutch** · Posted On: 10/17/2012 11:45am

Originally Posted by goodlun

This would still be an option even if they did have firearms. Depends on the situation on how appropriate it would be to use deadly force.

..and that's a decision most British people aren't happy for our police to make, which is why they don't get guns to play with.

**slamdunc** · Posted On: 10/17/2012 11:52am

Originally Posted by goodlun

This would still be an option even if they did have firearms. Depends on the situation on how appropriate it would be to use deadly force.

Sword = deadly force if he refuses to drop it when ordered to do so AND advances (generalization). Don't bring a knife to a gun fight LOL.

At any rate, I've been Tasered, and it really sucks for the five-second ride. When the switch goes off, all you have is the memory.

**goodlun** · Posted On: 10/17/2012 12:10pm

So the question here is then what are the limitations of the taser vs a firearm?
To answer why is it important for an officer to have a firearm vs say a taser if the perp does have a knife or sword.
I would suspect
Range
Ammo Capacity
Being able to engage multiple targets
are all things but I am sure their are more.