POLICE say a man who was Tasered in Darlington on Wednesday evening had pulled something shiny out of his pocket and advanced on them.

The incident happened around 5.30pm at the bottom of Victoria Road, near the Barker and Stonehouse premises, when two police officers responded to calls from the public.

Witnesses say prior to this the man had been wandering in and out of traffic. 

He is understood to be in his late 30s or early 40s and was wearing a blue T-shirt and light coloured trousers. 

Insp Sarah Honeyman, of Darlington Police, said: "When officers got there he has gone towards them and pulled something shiny out of his pocket. He kept going towards them even though they had told him to stand still."

As a result he was Tasered, Insp Honeyman said.

A witness said: "I saw him at side of the road. A car stopped to let him across he then started mouthing off at them in the middle of road and pointing at the car.

"He got to the other side and started to doing the same thing to get back across the road. He seemed very agitated.

"One police officer managed to handcuff him, while the other pointed the Taser at him.

"Obviously, someone had reported to the police and they pulled up in right hand lane. He threw something at them and he got Tasered and went down.

"Within a couple of minutes a police van came to take him away."

After being arrested and detained on suspicion of committing a public order offence the man was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital for an assessment, she said.

  • Did you see the incident? Email newsdesk@nne.co.uk

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