Police in Lancashire, who mistook a blind stroke victim’s white stick for a samurai sword ans tasered him, were deployed with the weapons more than 500 times last year a Freedom of Information request has revealed.  

The Lancashire Telegraph report:

 STUN guns were deployed by Lancashire police 569 times between January 1 and November 5, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed.

How many times the weapon was used on people not charged with an offence is unclear however, as the Constabulary said it would take more time than afforded under FOI regulations.

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I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.