“It made me feel sick,” she said.

“You don’t want to see somebody being hurt. From what little I did see, I just thought: how could they not know that he was in distress? Did they not wonder why he wasn’t wearing any shoes?

“Why didn’t they just go up to him and ask him what was wrong? They’re police officers, and they’re supposed to protect us."

'He was in intensive care for four weeks'

Asked about her how her grandson had changed since the incident on June 6, 2021, which left him with a brain injury, she said: “As soon as he sees a police van now, he automatically thinks: ‘They’re coming for him.'

“He was black and blue. I wish I’d taken a photo of him in hospital: he was in intensive care for four weeks.

“He’s just had an operation to fit a metal plate put in his head, which has unnerved him. He just sits in a chair and stares – at photographs, and at the telly. He says he can’t remember anything.

“He now suffers short term memory loss.”

Asked what she would say to Cumbria’s Chief Constable if she had the opportunity, the woman said: “I’d just say that your police force is a disgrace. I just can’t believe it’s all happened.

“The police are there to protect you, not to shout and bawl at you like that. I don’t get where they were coming from. All he was doing was just standing there, and then it all started.

“I hope this never happens to anyone else – because we’ve had two years of hell. It’s been hard trying to keep him going.”

Since the incident, the man has almost become a recluse and spends most of his time in his bedroom, and he now rarely venturing out except to take his dog for short walks near his home.

Read a full report on the incident including Cumbria Police's response.

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