The 95-year-old Australian great-grandmother with dementia who was tased by police in her nursing home died Wednesday, the New York Post reported, and an officer is facing charges.
What are the details?
Clare Nowland fractured her skull when she fell to the ground after Constable Kristian White used a taser on her May 17, the paper said.
White and another officer responded to a specialized nursing home in New South Wales after staff reported that Nowland had taken a steak knife from the kitchen, the paper said, citing officials.
Nowland, in possession of the knife, was approaching police “at a slow pace” with the help of a walker when the officer deployed her stun gun, the paper said, citing NSW Police Force Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter.
The officer initially was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault, the paper said, adding that the charges were expected to be upgraded in light of Nowland’s death.
More from the paper:
The use of force against the incapacitated woman has sparked a national debate about police policy and elder care staff procedures. Cops are only allowed to use Taser-like guns on suspects when their lives are being threatened.
Police have declined to release body camera footage of the incident, and have claimed that Nowland’s injuries were the result of her fall to the floor, not from the electric shock from the stun gun.
White was suspended with pay on Tuesday while police conducted an internal investigation.
Anything else?
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that it covered Nowland’s 80th birthday, during which she celebrated with a skydive captured on video. The great-grandmother volunteered at a charity store in Cooma before suffering from dementia in recent years, the ABC also said.
Great-grandmother dies, officer charged over alleged Tasering | 9 News Australia
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