Taking Aim at False Positives

November 15th, 2007

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Posted by ChrisG at 5:01 pm

Looks like the Met weren’t the only ones engaging in a bout of misidentification [PDF] back in July 2005:

Mr Gaubert said he was on his way to meet friends when he suffered a hypoglycaemic fit on the bus which left him slumped on his seat clutching his rucksack. Armed police were called to the bus depot in Headingley and when he failed to respond to their challenges he was shot with the Taser. He said as this was happening, another officer was pointing a real gun at his head. He was restrained and eventually came round in the police van. He said it was only then that the officers realised it was a medical emergency, despite him wearing a medical tag round his neck to warn of his condition, and took him to hospital. Mr Gaubert said he was told the police believed he looked “Egyptian”.