The Metropolitan Police has agreed to a substantial out-of-court settlement with an 84-year-old retired dancer who was tasered in his own home during a bungled raid, a case that has reignited the debate on police negligence.

Roy Morton, who lives alone and relies on a pacemaker, was subjected to a terrifying ordeal in December 2021 when firearms officers stormed his Cricklewood home. They were hunting for a Black man in his 20s; instead, they found an elderly white man in his pyjamas. The "error," attributed to a call handler's mistake, led to Morton being stunned, handcuffed, and detained for 11 hours.

"I Felt Diminished"

The settlement comes just as the case was heading to trial, preventing a public airing of the full bodycam footage which reportedly shows officers shouting and shining torches at the confused pensioner before deploying the Taser. "I lost my sense of safety and calm in my own home," Morton said in a poignant statement. "I felt physically and mentally diminished in a way I never had before. I felt as if I had aged into an old man overnight."

• Systemic Failures: The incident highlights a catastrophic breakdown in intelligence verification. That armed officers could not distinguish between a 20-year-old suspect and an 80-year-old man raises serious questions about the "shoot first" mentality.
• The Apology: DCS Neil Smithson offered a "wholehearted apology," but for many, it rings hollow against the backdrop of a prolonged legal battle where Morton was forced to fight for years to get justice.

A Universal Fear

While this occurred in London, the story strikes a chord globally, including in Kenya where cases of mistaken identity and police brutality are distressingly common. The image of a frail grandfather being tasered in his hallway is a visceral reminder of the power imbalance between the state and the citizen. The settlement provides Morton with financial restitution, but as his lawyer noted, "prolonged denial and delay can itself become a source of real harm."