Clare Nowland tasered at Cooma: Family slam NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb

The family of a 95-year-old woman in critical condition after being tasered by police have criticized the NSW Police Commissioner for saying it is ‘not necessary’ for her to view bodycam video of the incident.

Clare Nowland, a dementia patient who uses a walker, was tasered by a senior officer at 4am on Wednesday as she approached officers “armed” with a steak knife at Yallambee Lodge retirement home in Cooma, in the NSW Snowy Mountains.

At a press conference on Saturday, Commissioner Karen Webb said she has no intention of releasing the vision or even seeing it for herself.

Spokesman for Ms Nowland’s family, Andrew Thaler, told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday afternoon that Commissioner Webb has an ‘obligation’ to review the footage.

“I don’t accept that she doesn’t have to, the responsibility stops with her,” Mr. Thaler said.

“She can’t hide, she has to stand up and take responsibility and make sure the community and family get answers.”

Ms Nowland (pictured), a dementia sufferer, was tasered by the senior constable at 4am on Wednesday as she slowly approached a team of officers ‘armed’ with a steak knife and on a walker at Yallambee Lodge retirement home in the near Cooma, in the NSW Snowy Mountains

The incident made headlines around the world and has thrown the spotlight on Cooma, a town an hour south of Canberra with a population of 6,800.

Mr Thaler added that he was in Cooma on Friday and said none of the media outlets he spoke to were aware that Commissioner Webb had traveled there to speak to the family.

“The top agent thinks she can sneak in and out, but we need more,” he said.

“The family wants answers, the friends want answers, the community and the world want answers. I called on the commissioner to come down and she did, but she also has an obligation to the community and the family.’

At a press conference in Sydney on Saturday, Commissioner Webb said she did not need to view the footage because the details had been described to her.

‘I don’t really intend to, no. I’ve heard what is carried in the body, and I don’t think it’s necessary for me to actually look at it.’ she said.

“First of all, I’m not sure why they (the public) would want to see it, but also body-worn video is subject to legal requirements around the Surveillance Devices Act and other things, so it’s not routine and we don’t intend to to release it, unless there is some process at the end of this by which it can be released.’

Greens spokesman David Shoebridge has criticized the handling of the incident, saying the bodycam vision should be released if Mrs. Nowland’s family agreed.

“There must be an urgent and public review of this incident by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) which, after consultation with the family, includes the release of the Taser video,” he said.

“Tasers are a potentially lethal weapon and should be treated as such, but all too often when the system sends the police that is what they reach for.

“The structural failure here is sending police to the incident when an emergency mental health team should have been available to de-escalate and treat an elderly woman in distress.”

Police officers were called to the nursing home (pictured) after being told she had a kitchen knife. Ms Nowland was tasered while standing next to her walker

The great-grandmother is now receiving end-of-life care at Cooma District Hospital, surrounded by her distraught family.

On Saturday afternoon, Mr. Thaler said the 95-year-old’s condition had not changed, but her breathing had become “deeper.”

Commissioner Webb spent time with the family on Friday and said she valued their well-being over the media. She had been criticized for sending her deputy, Peter Cotter, to a press conference on Friday.

“Well, first of all, it is urgent that the family be notified first, and that was respectful to the family,” she said.

“They have a big family that’s scattered all over New South Wales and other places, and that took a while, and then we had to wait for the investigators in Cooma to get there, and those investigators came from Sydney, and we had to wait until those facts became clear to us.

“As I said, Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter is in charge of this investigation and he’s the designated officer, so it’s important for him to talk to the fact that we know so far, and as I said, I was with the family in Cooma yesterday.

“So it’s appropriate that I talk to you today about what we’re dealing with right now and that’s really the question of why we all want to know why, that’s going to take time.”

When asked by reporters if she is concerned about the impact of the incident on police, she said she, like everyone else, just wants to know what happened.

“Of course I understand the community’s concern, and I am concerned, I want answers like everyone else and I look forward to getting those answers in time,” she said.

The officer in question will remain off duty while the investigation is ongoing.

When asked why the officer had resigned, Commissioner Webb declined to provide further details.

“He’s not in the workplace, but I can’t articulate the reasons why he’s not in the workplace,” she told reporters.