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Police Taser man cycling round Ipswich while brandishing swordSword (source Sgt Ali Livingstone of Suffolk Constabulary on Twitter).PNG

Police Taser man cycling round Ipswich while brandishing sword

Suspect was "compliantly arrested" by officers yesterday morning...
by Simon_MacMichael
Wed, Aug 31, 2016 18:13
12

Police in Ipswich yesterday morning used a Taser on a man who was brandishing a sword while cycling in the Suffolk county town.

According to the Ipswich Star, the man, aged 32, was waving the sword at passers-by in the town’s Riverside Road and Yarmouth Road areas.

At around 9.25am, officers from Suffolk Constabulary detained the man.

Police sergeant Ali Livingstone tweeted pictures of the weapon, which had a blade more than 12 inches long, and confirmed that a Taser had been used on the suspect.

The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offence weapon and was taken away by officers for questioning.

While the newspaper described it as a “samurai sword,” the picture shows that it bears little resemblance to one, nor indeed any historical sword, having a modern design.

Ipswich
Suffolk Constabulary
Sword
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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12 comments

Avatar
IanW1968 | 8 years ago
1 like

I wouldn't trust anything in the Ipswich Star, its written by knobheads and read by halfwits.  

Avatar
stonojnr replied to IanW1968 | 8 years ago
3 likes
IanW1968 wrote:

I wouldn't trust anything in the Ipswich Star, its written by knobheads and read by halfwits.  

That as maybe,but one story seems to be a genuine attempt to raise attention to provide better cycling facilities,after a serious injury to a cyclist,something I thought Road.cc promoted & we're in favour and impacts all cyclists

The other is a nonsensical Daily Mailesque story that is completely irrelevant for 99.9% of cyclists, & especially those who aren't 'sword' wielding idiots

If local newspapers are being trawled for content at least make it relevant to the majority of road.cc site visitors,else we'll just go elsewhere for real cycling news stories

Avatar
stonojnr | 8 years ago
2 likes

wouldnt this have been the better cycling related story to pick up from the Ipswich Star ?

 

"Cyclist calls for safer cycle routes in Ipswich after accident which left her with severe damage to her spine"

http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/cyclist_calls_for_safer_cycle_routes_in_ipswich_after_accident_which_left_her_with_severe_damage_to_her_spine_1_4678040

Avatar
wycombewheeler | 8 years ago
0 likes

Are we calling 12 inches a sword now? More like a knife to me.

Avatar
vonhelmet replied to wycombewheeler | 8 years ago
2 likes
wycombewheeler wrote:

Are we calling 12 inches a sword now? More like a knife to me.

That's not a knife...

Seriously though, that's not a knife. It looks like a spearhead more than anything else.

Avatar
brooksby replied to vonhelmet | 8 years ago
1 like
vonhelmet wrote:
wycombewheeler wrote:

Are we calling 12 inches a sword now? More like a knife to me.

That's not a knife...

Seriously though, that's not a knife. It looks like a spearhead more than anything else.

Looks Klingon to me...

Avatar
Danger Dicko replied to wycombewheeler | 8 years ago
0 likes
wycombewheeler wrote:

Are we calling 12 inches a sword now? More like a knife to me.

Pork sword?

Avatar
Sanderstorm | 8 years ago
4 likes

Was he wearing a helmet though?

Avatar
patto583 | 8 years ago
3 likes

If they used the taser on him in the process of "compliantly arresing" him then that is quite clearly unreasonable and disproportionalte force.

What the Twitter grab states however is that he was challenged with a taser, which is much more in line with reasonable force, thank you for another misleading headline.

Avatar
DaveE128 replied to patto583 | 8 years ago
0 likes
patto583 wrote:

If they used the taser on him in the process of "compliantly arresing" him then that is quite clearly unreasonable and disproportionalte force.

What the Twitter grab states however is that he was challenged with a taser, which is much more in line with reasonable force, thank you for another misleading headline.

My thoughts exactly. It doesn't sound like they used the taser on him at all - just pointed it at him, and he was arrested without resistance.

Avatar
brooksby replied to DaveE128 | 8 years ago
0 likes
DaveE128 wrote:

My thoughts exactly. It doesn't sound like they used the taser on him at all - just pointed it at him, and he was arrested without resistance.

You mean "Resistance was futile"?  (yes, I know that was Borg not Klingon, but still... cheqaDlaHbe').

Avatar
pakennedy | 8 years ago
13 likes

When questioned, the man confirmed that for the first time in months he hadn't had a single dangerously close pass on his journey.

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