An investigation is happening in Australia about a police officer using a Taser on a 95-year-old woman with dementia. Clare Nowland, who weighs 95 pounds, was left in critical condition after the senior constable used the weapon at a care facility where she lives. The incident has made community members and disability advocates angry, and they are questioning the necessity of the officer’s use of force.
The New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner, Peter Cotter, said that Nowland was approaching the police slowly with a walking frame but had a knife. The police received reports of a resident wielding a knife at the Yallambee Lodge aged care facility in Cooma, New South Wales. They found Nowland holding a steak knife, which she had obtained from the kitchen earlier that day.
Efforts were made to negotiate with Nowland for several minutes, but she did not drop the knife. When she approached the officers standing at the doorway of the room, one of them employed the Taser. The entire incident was captured on body camera footage.
An investigation has been launched by the New South Wales Police, and the officer in question has been suspended pending further inquiries. The investigation is classified as “Level One,” the highest level, and will involve the homicide squad due to the severity of Nowland’s injuries.
Nowland is recognized in her community as a dedicated volunteer at a local charity and previously went skydiving to celebrate her 80th birthday.
