A charity has described as 'alarming' the use of a Taser by police on a dementia sufferer in North Lincolnshire. The 59-year-old man was shot with a stun gun on 6 March in Epworth, according to a report by Humberside Police Authority.
The Alzheimer's Society said the incident showed 'a lack of understanding in society' of dementia. The farmer was 'suffering from a rapid onset of Alzheimer's disease' at the time, the report stated. Two officers suffered minor injuries after the farmer ripped out the Taser barbed darts and had to be physically restrained until more officers arrived.
Sarah Moody, from the Alzheimer's Society, said: 'The Alzheimer's Society is very alarmed at the use of a Taser gun on a vulnerable person with early onset dementia, which must have been a particularly distressing experience for the gentleman concerned.' She added that people with dementia can sometimes exhibit extreme agitation, and the incident illustrates a lack of understanding in society of the condition.
Police defended their actions. Chief Supt David Eldritch, from Humberside Police, said: 'It's very sad that this gentleman had to be restrained through the use of a Taser but the officers were faced with a significant level of violence. It is to their credit that they successfully restrained the 59-year-old man without injury to himself and took him to a place of safety to be treated.'
The report will be put forward to the Authority's policing committee at a meeting on 15 May.
