Blind fury

Less than a month ago, I wrote a post explaining why I didn’t think the British police should be routinely armed. Part of my argument was that they’ve proven in the past that they cannot be trusted with Tasers, let alone actual guns.

And here’s another fine example to illustrate said case against pervasive armed police.

That’s right. They zapped a blind guy. Nice work eh?

Colin Farmer, 61, was stunned by police following reports of a man walking through Chorley with a samurai sword.

Ch Supt Stuart Williams, of Lancashire Police, said the force had "deep regrets" and had "clearly put this man through a traumatic experience".

…

Mr Farmer, who has suffered two strokes, said he thought he was being attacked by thugs.

He was walking to a pub to meet friends on Friday when the officer fired the Taser. It forced him to drop his stick and he fell to the ground, he said.

He said the experience had left him "shaking like a leaf" and scared to go outside.

The case has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Uh-huh. Job jobbed then.

AJ

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TASER TASER TA.. Oooops.. Sorry love.

Unbelievable. Actually, no. It’s quite believable.

Police have apologised after accidentally shooting a 14-year-old girl with a Taser.

Officers investigating complaints of anti-social behaviour fired the Taser after attempting to arrest a man who had become aggressive towards them.

But the Taser missed the intended target and hit schoolgirl Jodie Gallagher, who was standing nearby, sending a huge electric shock through her.

In a statement, Nottinghamshire Police said: ‘As soon as the officer realised he had missed the intended target, he cancelled the discharge.

Oh, well.. never mind then, as you were, Constable Shitbag.

AJ

I have twine. I shall now make a rope.

Prompted by something highlighted by CharonQC.

Police were investigating today after an officer accidentally discharged a 50,000 volt Taser weapon into a man’s groin.

Peter Cox, 49, was seeking legal advice over the incident which started when he was stopped on suspicion of driving a BMW without insurance.

He spotted a patrol car following him and pulled over at his friend’s house in Bridgwater, Somerset, where he was doing landscaping work on July 13.

The officer pointed the Taser at him for a few seconds before lowering the weapon.

At this point, it discharged, narrowly missing the father-of-one’s genitals and hitting his groin and ankle.

Unemployed Mr Cox, who suffers from Guillain Barri syndrome, fell to the ground in agony and he was treated by paramedics on the front lawn.

He denied being aggressive and said the insurance company confirmed the car had valid insurance immediately after he was stopped.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesman said the weapon was discharged by accident and that an investigation was under way.

Mr Cox’s disease by the way, is this:

Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), an autoimmune disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system, usually triggered by an acute infectious process.

Some of the symptoms seem disturbing and very unfortunate.

Meanwhile, the other day, Ambush Predator pointed this out:

That doesn’t count accidental discharge of Tasers, apparently, since they’re not mentioned in the article.

And yet Tasers are, by law, classified as firearms. In days gone by, only firearms certified plod could carry or use a Taser. I’m not sure if that’s still the case, as I know Labour wanted to hand 10,000 of the things to non-firearms trained coppers last year.

So how does this affect you or me, in the world of law-abiding, middle-class professionals.

Well, stopped for a BMW apparently being uninsured? Hardly a Ford Escort, is it? Okay, I know there are now loads of snotty old Beemers around, but still, the one I sold last year was a 2001 model – hardly brand spanking new.

But of course, you and I always properly insure our cars, as much for reasons of exposure to unlimited civil liability as to remain within the laws of the land. So, if you read the article at the top, did Mr Cox.

the insurance company confirmed the car had valid insurance immediately after he was stopped.

So did my commenter in this thread. My emphasis.

AJ – I’m painfully aware of the new insurance database laws. I have had one car impounded because my insurance wasn’t on the database. I had to walk home and It cost me £117 to get it back the following day. The insurance company wouldn’t pay up because apparently it takes up to 5 days for your policy to appear on the database.

I was stopped later on in the year and had my documents with me. Again I wasn’t on the database. It appears that my reg no had been entered with a zero that should have been a “o”. They didn’t impound me that time because it was not the traffic cops that stopped me; they phone my insurance company and verified my insurance.

They did tell me that if it had been a traffic stop, my car would have been impounded, regardless of the fact that I had my documents because they could have been fake. They also said that the traffic cops wouldn’t even have made the phonecall, they would have just taken my car and left it up to me to prove I had insurance.

So there it is. Change insurers, or have an insurer that enters your registration plate into their computer in an unorthdox way, and you will get stopped.

You may be denied the opportunity to prove your car is insured, before it is impounded at your cost.

I travel all over the UK on business. What if something like this were to happen when I was in, say, Newcastle? 250 miles from home and 100lbs of luggage and kit either carried home or lost with the car.

I think I’d get pretty fucking irate. Possibly on account of my own health issues. And then PC Fucksmith would accidentally taser me in the bollocks.

There but for the grace of my imaginary best friend go I…

I give you the Muppets:

AJ

Stuff I can’t bring myself to blog about…

 

The new EU roles and the Communist monkeys that have been plonked into them.

• Dan Hannan: Herman Van Rompuy: today the EU, tomorrow the world!
• Dan Hannan again: A great EU stitch-up that demeans democracy
• Old Holborn: Speechless!
• The Times: Baroness Ashton: EU couldn’t make it up

  

• Rod Liddle: A charisma free zone – A worthy extract, regarding the Barrenness Asstongue.

She began as an administrator for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, an organization so stupid even the Russians burst into laughter when its name was brought up. This was followed by a spell at the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work, the institution which works hard to inculcate in our social workers incompetence, stupidity and political correctness. Then she hopped over to the National Council for One Parent Families, an organization which likes one parent families and thinks they are a Good Thing. Later, she received an award from the unspeakably ghastly homosexuals at Stonewall, presumably for some hideous manifestation of political correctness.

For all this stuff she was made a life peer. Then, without the remotest experience in trade matters she was appointed EU trade commissioner. Never elected by anyone, anywhere, totally unqualified for almost every job she has done, she has risen to her current position presumably through a combination of down-the-line Stalinist political correctness and the fact that she has the charisma of a caravan site on the Isle of Sheppey.

And some gleeful smirking from another corner of the Speccie, seeing the possible benefits of putting numpties with no democratic mandate in these potentially powerful roles.

I find it slightly surprising that few are pointing out (thought some do) that she is married to Peter Kellner, head of Labia’s favourite pollsters, YouGov, who is also active, with ASH, in the war against smokists.

Old Holborn is kindly covering the Mandelson bases.

• Mandelson Grabs Nominet and Control of ISP’s
• [Mandselson says] Make Me Foreign Minister

Constantly Furious is still watching the #paulclarke case with interest and there is no shortage of twists.

• #paulclarke – important updates
• #paulclarke – next twist, coming soon
• #paulclarke – now THAT’s interesting…
• #paulclarke – and there’s more..

Dick Puddlecote also contributes his thoughts on #paulclarke. He also brings us the latest from the frontline of the war against smokers.

Other shit later, if I run out of pharmaceutical grade sweeties.

AJ

UPDATE: Yeah.. Steve Shark shuts the ‘they’re banning Christmas’ wankers right up.

• The myth of “Winterval”
• Winterval – It’s a myth in Dundee!

UPDATE 2: SteveShark recommended ‘New bloggist on the block’, StasiNation, also addresses a number of these areas with aplomb.

• Paul Clarke’s response
• Mandelson: “I just won me a motherfucking internet.”
• The end of P2P? Or just the end of privacy?
• Climategate

He also has a Taser update (now available for use on kids apparently), and a victory for the woman who, I previously relayed, had a ticket slapped on her in Sandwell for feeding the ducks. Some quite interesting details in there:

Big Brother Watch picked up on the story and offered to take up Miss Kelly’s case with Sandwell’s Stasi. The latest news is that the Council have revoked the FPN, along with 6 others that were issued, and are reimbursing a further two citizens who had already paid. They warn, however, that in future “wardens wearing head cameras will be on patrol at the Londonderry Lane park.” Oh really? I’d like to see the boot on the other foot once these “wardens” start filming children at play without their parents’ permission…

Indeed.

 

Oh, and StasiNation also has a most insightful update on the latest threats to parents who home-school their children, which I urge you to partake of…

Parens Patriae

The council is investigating one of the families in my street. While discussing this with Mrs. KiddR last night, it became apparent that, for a cul-de-sac of only 28 households, there are some seriously dysfunctional families here. So anyway, who has the council got their hooks into? There’s Mrs. X , the alcoholic with behavioural, emotional and possibly psychological problems. If she isn’t pissed and drunkenly singing along to Abba at max volume at 2am,  then she’s pissed and arguing with her live-in boyfriend at max volume at 2am. God alone knows how – or if – her 8 year old daughter sleeps through it.

Read on…

UPDATE 3:

StasiNation, I think, refers to this:

A British plan to allow local authorities "the right of access to the home" and "the right to speak with each child alone" in order to evaluate homeschooling families and make certain they do what the government wants is a warning about what could happen in the United States, according to the world’s largest homeschool advocacy organization.

"On June 11, 2009, a report on home education in England by Graham Badman, a former Managing Director of Children, Families and Education in the County of Kent, was accepted in full by the British Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families," according to today’s report from the Home School Legal Defense Association.

"The report makes the case that homeschooling should be extensively regulated in England," the HSLDA continued. "Aside from registering with the state and mandating reports by homeschoolers, the Badman report makes references to balancing the rights of parents with the rights of children. This idea is expressed in the UNCRC."

…

According to the report now awaiting legislative action in Britain,

^^^ Read this!

… Badman concludes, "I am not persuaded that under the current regulatory regime that there is a correct balance between the rights of parents and the rights of the child either to an appropriate education or to be safe from harm. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) gives children and young people over 40 substantive rights which include the right to express their views freely, the right to be heard in any legal or administrative matters that affect them and the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. Article 12 makes clear the responsibility of signatories to give children a voice:

Read on…

Police and Tasers Update

I rambled on about Taser wielding plods not so long ago, and the story continues, with North Wales Police (headed by the eternal fuck-knuckle Dicky Brunstrom) deciding that the best way to pacify a suicidal 89 year old man is with a fucking Taser.

Police used stun gun on man, 89

Police have said a decision to use a Taser gun to control an 89-year-old man was necessary as he was threatening to cut his throat with a piece of glass.

Officers from the North Wales force said the incident happened after the man had absconded from a care home.

It was decided the use of a 50,000 volt stun gun was the "most appropriate" option to protect him during the incident at Llandudno, Conwy.

The man was taken to hospital where he was treated for minor glass injuries.

…

His sister said she was lodging a complaint because she thought it was a "diabolical way to treat an old man".

His nephew, an engineer, said he had gone into a care home about three weeks ago and had walked out within a few days and again on Saturday.

Excruciating pain

He said his uncle had been fit until about a year ago, but then had deteriorated and found it difficult to cope.

However, he was now recovering well in hospital.

He said his uncle, who is unmarried, could recall the excruciating pain of the Taser and had said he had been very frightened.

The family felt the police should have tried other methods and considered it a miracle he did not have a heart attack on the spot, he added.

Too fucking right – these fascist wankers should be up on charges. And these are the ‘specially trained’ firearms officers, not the 30,000 knuckle scraping mongs Jacqui Smith wants to arm with these things.

AJ

H/T Landed Underclass who has a particularly unpleasant, but entirely plausible, theory for how this could all have happened.