Australia: Police face outcry after officer tasers 95-year-old woman holding knife

A 95-year-old woman, who is a patient with dementia, suffered life-threatening injuries after she was tasered by a police officer at a care home in Australia.

The woman was admitted to the hospital. Police officers reached Yallambee Lodge in Cooma after they received reports of Clare Nowland carrying a knife.

The incident sparked an outcry as advocates called the action of police officers a “disproportionate response”. The New South Wales (NSW) police chief stated that she shares the concerns raised by the community and that an investigation is going on.

The police officers found Nowland in her room "armed" with a steak knife on Wednesday morning, said Assistant Police Commissioner Peter Cotter, while speaking to media on Friday.

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He added that the care home staff and police officers made efforts to de-escalate the situation.

"At the time she was tasered, she was approaching police but it is fair to say at a slow pace. She had a walking frame, but she had a knife,” said Cotter during a press conference.

Nowland's family friend Andrew Thaler claimed she was struck twice, in the back and the chest, after which she fell and suffered a fractured skull as well as a serious brain bleed.

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'Family fears woman may not survive'

Her family has been grieving about the injuries she has suffered and fear that the woman may not survive, Thaler said while speaking to the BBC.

"The family are shocked, they're confused... and the community is outraged. How can this happen? How do you explain this level of force? It's absurd,” he added.

Community groups, which include People with Disability Australia (PwD) and NSW Council for Civil Liberties, have criticised the response of the police.

"She's either one hell of an agile, fit, fast and intimidating 95-year-old woman, or there's a very poor lack of judgement (from) those police officers," said PwD President Nicole Lee while speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"She needed somebody to... handle her with compassion and time, and not Tasers,” he added.

An investigation into the critical incident has been launched by NSW Police which Commissioner Karen Webb stated is being treated with "the utmost seriousness".

"I understand and share the community concerns," she stated.

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The officer who was involved in the incident has not been suspended by the department but will be interrogated as part of the ongoing investigation. The investigation will also include the homicide squad.

"No officer, not one of us, is above the law. All our actions will be scrutinised robustly from a criminal perspective as well,” Cotter stated.

Snowy Monaro Regional Council, which runs the care home, has defended its response.

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