Sunrise host Nat Barr loses it at police commissioner after grandmother was tasered

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb has twice explained why she refuses to look in person at the police bodycam vision of a beloved grandmother being tasered, leading to a fiery clash with Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr on live television.

Clare Nowland, 95, is surrounded by family as she receives end-of-life care at Cooma Hospital, six days after being tasered by police at Yallambie Lodge nursing home in southern NSW.

The demented woman was in a walker and carrying a knife when Senior Constable Kristian White tasered her at around 4am last Wednesday.

Commissioner Karen Webb has repeatedly said she refuses to view bodycam footage of the incident, sparking widespread backlash.

She was confronted with tough questions from Barr and David Koch, hosts of Sunrise, on Tuesday, leading to a fiery encounter.

“One of the things that gripped everyone was your comment that you don’t want to see the bodycam footage. Was that a mistake?’ asked Barr.

A rebellious Commissioner Webb said she was surprised at the furore over her decision, which she stands by.

“I’m not actually the detective and the important thing here is that the detectives do their job and let them do their job without me interfering,” she said.

Her reaction annoyed Barr.

“So you’ve never seen anything like it, it shocked the whole country. It’s made foreign news,” Barr countered.

“What people don’t understand is why you’re not interested in that?”

“You don’t have to comment on it. You can let the research run its course, but why you didn’t want or need those images is a mystery to people.’

Commissioner Webb doubled down and said, “Whether I watch the video or not, this is not going to speed up this investigation.

“That’s the point I’m trying to make, I have to let these detectives and the investigative team do their job without worrying about who saw it and who didn’t.”

Koch said it was astonishing to many that a 95-year-old could be tasered in the first place.

“What threat could she have been on a walker?” he asked

Webb explained that it was important for detectives to keep working to understand why.

‘It makes no sense for me to speculate. I don’t know,” Webb stated.

Webb admitted she still hasn’t spoken to Senior Constable Kristian White, the officer who tasered the great-grandmother.

“No, he’s not at work right now. I’ll probably talk to him sometime. My concern at this time is with the Nowland family.

“This is a terrible time for that time. They go there a lot. They have my thoughts and prayers with them.”

Commissioner Webb was then confronted with the amount of training police officers receive in cases where there are mental health issues or dementia.

“We are always reviewing it. Of course, if something needs to change about that training, we will update it,” she explained.

Commissioner Webb said the role of a police officer seems to be broadening.

“We are expected to know everything about everything and we are not experts in everything.

“We prepare our agents for all kinds of situations, but I am concerned that we have been sent to a situation that has not been resolved by staff, has not been resolved by others, and that we are being called as a last resort.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Commissioner Webb was asked similarly awkward questions by Karl Stefanovic on the Today show.

“I think everyone knows you’re a Commissioner who knows how to get things done,” he said.

“But people can’t reconcile that you didn’t watch this video. They just can’t fathom why you wouldn’t have.’

The commissioner acknowledged that the public wanted to see the bodycam video but said ‘it’s a bit voyeuristic’, adding that Ms Nowland’s family ‘don’t want it in the public domain’.

She said the family, whom she met last week, “doesn’t want (the video) to be the lasting memory of their mother’s.

Commissioner Webb agreed that the footage ‘may not be right at all’ for the senior officer who fired the Taser at Ms Nowland, but was unable to speculate on what the police investigation into the attack might find.

She was also questioned about a previous incident in 2020 involving Senior Constable White where he and a colleague wrongfully detained a motorcyclist in the ACT outside their jurisdiction.

“Part of this investigation into the Mrs Nowland case will take into account the officer’s history,” Commissioner Webb said.

“Like I said, it’s going to be a very complete full investigation. An urgent inquiry into that officer’s history and current employment status.”

When asked how long it will take to complete the study, she replied ‘how long is a piece of string?’

She also admitted that she may watch the video “when all the evidence comes to me.”

Meanwhile, Ms Nowland’s family has issued a statement to the Monaro Post requesting privacy and thanking everyone for the outpouring of support in Australia and the world.

“The Nowland family would like to express our deep love and affection for our mother, Nana and great-grandmother Clare,” the statement begins.

Highly respected, much loved and a generous member of her local community, Clare is the loving and gentle matriarch of the Nowland family.

This is a very worrying and distressing time for our family and we are united in our support for Clare and each other. We stand together. We thank everyone here in Cooma, the wider region and in fact the entire country and the rest of the world for the outpouring of support for her and her ongoing battle with dementia – it affects so many.

While we fully understand the interest of the media, we kindly ask all media representatives to respect the privacy of the family – and Clare’s – at this very difficult time. Thanks everyone.’