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.
Man cycling round Ipswich waving this at members of public. Located, challenged with Taser & compliantly arrested pic.twitter.com/vW5cZET2zT
— Ali Livingstone (@SgtALivingstone) August 30, 2016
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.