95-year-old grandmother Tasered, Clare Nowland: Policeman snaps at reporters

An assistant police commissioner snapped at reporters wanting to know if a senior officer who tasered a 95-year-old woman — causing her to cling to life — will be charged.

Clare Nowland, who suffers from dementia, is 157 cm tall (five feet two inches) and weighs just 43 kilograms, was tasered by police at Yallambee Lodge retirement home near Cooma, in the NSW Snowy Mountains, on Wednesday around 4 o’clock in the morning.

According to a police report, Ms Nowland was alone in a treatment room with a knife at the time, having previously retrieved it from the kitchen. Officers claim Ms Nowland was approaching police ‘at a slow pace’, with her walker, when she was shot with the Taser by a senior officer with 12 years of experience.

The Taser blast caused her to fall and hit her head. Community lawyer Andrew Thaler told Daily Mail Australia on Friday morning that Ms Nowland is now receiving end-of-life care at the hospital.

Her family has gathered around her in the expectation that she won’t have long to live, Thaler said.

Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter stressed that the investigation into the incident is being taken very seriously, but on multiple occasions declined to answer questions about whether the senior officer who fired the Taser will be charged.

“I am not the investigator, I am not in a position to talk about whether or not this officer will face criminal charges,” he said.

Towards the end of the press conference, Asst Cmnr Cotter was asked, “What are the possible charges against the officer?”

“I’m not going to answer that,” he replied.

Asst Cmnr Cotter then thanked the journalist for asking the question, but warned her not to continue with questions.

“I know where you’re going, but to be fair to everyone involved here, I’m not going to talk about this particular officer and any criminal charges,” he said.

“Let me soften it for you. But please don’t ask again. I think I’m clear about it.’

“She had a walker. But she had a knife

The senior police officer first gave a public account of the incident, describing how two officers were on the scene after receiving a call about Ms Nowland wandering around with a knife.

Asst Cmnr Cotter said police “negotiated” with Ms Nowland, trying to convince her to put down the kitchen utensil, which he described as a serrated steak knife.

“She approached the police, but it’s fair to say at a slow pace,” he said.

“She had a walker. But she had a knife.

“She did indeed have a knife in her hand and it is fair to say that she was armed with that knife. The knife in question was a steak knife.

Negotiations began with Clare to essentially drop the knife. For whatever reason, Clare didn’t.’

Asst Cmnr Cotter revealed there was ‘confrontational’ bodycam footage of the incident but insisted it was ‘not in the public interest’ to release the video – despite an international uproar over the strength of the police response .

Asst Cmnr Cotter also suggested that Ms Nowland’s case was being treated as if she might die soon. He said the top-level incident investigation conducted by the NSW Homicide Squad was consistent with a “potential corona investigation.”

Despite assurances from the Assistant Commissioner that Ms Nowland’s family would not speak to the media, Daily Mail Australia understands they have been given instructions not to speak to reporters.

The 12-year-old veteran police officer who tasered Ms Nowland has been temporarily withdrawn while the investigation into the incident continues.

“I cannot say whether this officer … will face criminal charges.” he said.

In the hours following the incident, which involved two police officers, the NSW Police Force initially described the Taser shooting only as an “interaction” with officers.

It was unclear why an assistant commissioner, rather than Commissioner Karen Webb, preceded the media.

An independent investigation into the incident is now underway.

What we know about the incident

Mr Thaler previously said Ms Nowland’s family was under the impression that their beloved eldest member could have just made toast in one of the kitchens ahead of time.

“Her family is just in disbelief (what happened),” he said.

The family believes that the institution itself was not sufficiently staffed to care for patients with dementia.

Yallambee Lodge is a 40-bed facility designed for people who can no longer care for themselves in their own homes, according to the council’s website.

Mr Thaler thought there may be only two carers on duty at 4am for 40 patients in five homes and that there was “a lack of training and for some of these workers English is not their first language, they may be in panicked’.

He said the funding for dementia care to be set up in Yallambee had not been passed by the Snowy Monaro Regional Council but was vital.

Mr Thaler challenged NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb to travel to Cooma and sit with Ms Nowland’s family for the difficult task of viewing the police bodycam of the incident.

Commissioner Webb said in a statement on Thursday evening: ‘My thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.

“I understand and share the community’s concerns and assure you that we are taking this matter extremely seriously.”

Ms. Nowland is a pillar of the local community who worked in the St Vincent de Paul local store and has been described as a ‘helper who loves to help people’.

Police were called to the nursing home early Wednesday after being told Ms Nowland had a kitchen knife.

Police claim they tried to talk to her, but tasered her when she stood next to her walker.

It is believed officers struggled to disarm her before pulling out their tasers and firing at her back and chest.

She fell and hit her head and was taken to the hospital.

Ms. Nowland, who was well known in the local community and believed to have been at the facility for about five years, collapsed and sustained serious injuries.

Josh Pallas, chair of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said police should not use Tasers on vulnerable people with dementia or a mental health crisis.

“Certainly, there must be more appropriate ways to deal with non-conforming people who are suffering,” he said.

NSW Police guidelines allow an officer to use a stun gun when violent resistance occurs or is imminent or when an officer is in danger of being overpowered.

The Snowy Monaro Regional Council, which runs Yallambee Lodge, said staff followed suit.

“The municipality supports our employees, residents and families during this difficult time,” the municipality said in a statement.

NSW Police have launched a Critical Incidents Investigation to investigate the actions of the responding officers. The research will be subject to an independent review.

People with Disability Australia president Nicole Lee said it was a “shocking” incident.

“She’s either a wonderfully agile, fit, fast and intimidating 95-year-old woman, or there’s very poor judgment on the part of those police officers and there really has to be some accountability on their part,” Ms Lee said.

“This woman, an elderly woman of 95, needed someone to de-escalate the situation with her and talk to her, and deal with her with compassion and time and not tasers.”

Mr Thaler called on Commissioner Webb to personally explain to Ms Nowland’s family what happened and to apologize.

“The country is rightly outraged,” he said.