An elderly woman with dementia is in hospital with life-threatening head injuries after being tasered by police at her aged care home.
Officers were called to Yallambee Lodge in Cooma after reports that 95-year-old Clare Nowland was carrying a knife.
Both officers and care home staff tried to de-escalate the situation, before she began approaching police - “it is fair to say at a slow pace” - and was tasered. “She had a walking frame. But she had a knife”.
Family friend Andrew Thaler claims Ms Nowland was struck twice - in the chest and the back - before she fell, suffering a fractured skull and serious brain bleed.
NSW Police has launched a critical incident investigation, which Commissioner Karen Webb said is being treated with “the utmost seriousness”.
The officer involved has not been suspended, but will be interviewed as part of the investigation, which will include the homicide squad.
“Disproportionate” doesn’t even begin to describe that level of response …
I’m surprised that it was in NSW, Victoria Police used to have the reputation for “shoot first, ask questions later”
Anyway walking frames here are not Zimmer Frames, they have wheels and brakes and can be operated with one hand. It is good to see the police at last are taking action against Hell’s Grannies they are a menace that needs stamping out. You see these aged hooligans terrorising shopping malls with their souped up electric scooters because they can’t find the slow speed. Tasering is too good for them.
A 95-year-old grandmother, standing about 155cm and weighing 43kg.
Mrs Nowland is in hospital in a critical condition because she hit her head when she fell.
Mrs Nowland’s family are maintaining a vigil by her hospital bed. Her condition is critical.
I suppose we weren’t there so hard to tell how threatening the situation was but surely to God they could have disarmed her another way?
It sounds as if she’s seriously ill and they may well have killed her?
What sort of man would press the taser trigger in an old lady like that, it would take some doing?
I think the problem is that they are trained now not to put themselves in any danger to deal with things and taser from a distance is safer than hand to hand grappling?
We had a similar incident here where our police tasered an 11 year old child. Apparently tasering children is quite common in the U.K.
Tasering is a legitimate tool for the hard-pressed police in many situations. But, tasering the very young or very old, is, at best, a severe over reaction and misuse of power. If this old lady dies as a direct result of this police over-reaction. Then there should be consequences for these officers. Not the least the loss of their jobs.
I would rather they used common sense rather than bully boy tactics
She was a petite 95 year old with a walker approaching slowly .
Absolutely no need to taser her you could probably disarm her with a blanket .
Where is their compassion ?
I once used to supervise students in elderly care settings - we never had tazer training - easiest and quickest was a cupped pillow wrapped quickly around the arm/knife/screwdriver etc etc - feckin tazer - they were not on the streets of melbourne or sydney fgs - yep if she dies and I do hope not the cop will get it in the neck for sure
I did say that the taser is a legitimate tool for the police. But a 95-year-old woman! Come on! Two big, strong, coppers afraid to harmlessly disarm a frail old lady? By the cringe, I fear for police morality and justice and where it is all leading.
the deputy commissionere of police yesterday was sorta sweating it all out under lights and microphones and being very very guarded - whilst he was spouting words of sympathy for the old lady he was not willing to entire any elaborate discussions about tazers!!
A 95-year-old Australian woman died Wednesday, a week after a police officer shot her with a stun gun in a nursing home as she moved toward him using a walker and carrying a steak knife, in a tragedy that has outraged many Australians.
Clare Nowland, who had dementia, had been hospitalized in Cooma in New South Wales state since her skull was fractured when she fell on May 17 after Constable Kristian White shocked her with a stun gun.
Police announced Nowland’s death hours after reporting that White has been ordered to appear in court on July 5 on charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault. The charges are likely to be upgraded following her death.
