Alzheimer's Society criticises police for shooting man with Alzheimer's with Taser stun gun

The Alzheimer’s Society has called for more training for police and healthcare professionals, after a farmer with Alzheimer’s was shot with a Taser stun gun by police, during a struggle to section him under the Mental Health Act.

The 59-year-old from Epworth in North Lincolnshire pulled the barbed darts out and more police officers were called to help restrain him. Police got involved after they were contacted by a doctor asking for assistance.

Two months after the incident, Peter Russell is still receiving psychiatric treatment in hospital.

His wife Diane, has criticised the police and doctors and said “there was no need” to use the Taser, as he had not been armed and was not about to kill himself.

The Alzheimer’s Society said it is “very alarmed” over 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”.

Sarah Moody, locality manager for the Alzheimer’s Society said: “People with dementia can sometimes exhibit extreme agitation which can be difficult to understand and cope with for those who encounter it. “This unfortunate incident illustrates a lack of understanding in society of dementia and the best way to support and help people who are affected by this devastating condition.

"Alzheimer’s Society campaigns for more training both for health professionals and others who come into contact with people living with dementia on a regular basis, such as the police.”

She added: “We hope to work with a wide range of professions as part of our new programme to develop Dementia Friendly Communities aimed at building a society which is much more supportive of people living with dementia and breaking down some of the stigma and barriers that they face.”

The shooting will be discussed by the Humberside Police Authority at its policing committee meeting on 15 May.

The Humberside police report said: ‘Sadly it seems that operational officers encounter people with mental health problems more and more in the course of their duties. Such a case occurred on 6 March 2012 in Epworth when a doctor phoned the police for assistance in sectioning a mentally ill patient.

A violent struggle ensued in which the officers tried to keep the man from injuring himself or harming them. He was Tasered but ripped out the Taser barbs and had to be restrained physically. The officers had to physically restrain the man until extra officers provided assistance. Eventually the man was transported to Great Oaks Mental Health Unit in Scunthorpe and had to be repeatedly sedated. The two police officers received minor injuries in the course of the struggle.’

Chief Supt David Eldritch, from Humberside Police, called it “very sad” that said “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.”