Charity calls for better training for police officers using tasers.
It comes after a blind man was hit by a stun gun in Levenshulme.
Amnesty International says police officers need rigorous training in the use of tasers after a stun gun was used, in error, on a blind man in Levenshulme.
It happened on Thursday night (23rd February) at Levenshulme train station after police received a 999 call reporting a person acting in an 'agitated manner'.
On arrival, officers mistook his walking cane for a gun.
It's the second time in five years that a visually impaired person has been tasered in the North West; something that worries Amnesty International's UK Head of Policy and Government Affairs, Alan Hogarth:
“This is another extremely disturbing incident of a Taser apparently being misused.
“The Taser is a potentially lethal weapon which should be used only in a strictly limited set of circumstances, namely a threat to life or the risk of very serious injury.
“With growing numbers of police officers armed with Tasers, this incident shows again that they should be getting the same level of training as firearms officers.
“We’re calling for police officers to undergo rigorous training which takes into account how to respond to people in vulnerable groups, including the visually impaired.
“Amnesty remains concerned that police officers are still likely to cause serious harm using Tasers without appropriate training."
GMP's Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: "An initial review of the incident leads us to believe the experienced firearms officers carried out a suitable risk assessment and, with the information he had available at the time, made what appeared to be an appropriate decision.
"The man was uninjured during the incident and officers have now apologised for what happened.
"The man has accepted our apology and does not wish to make a complaint however we will continue to review the situation.
"We regret that a taser was used on an unarmed person and will continue to review our training in light of this incident."