Tasered 95-year-old great-grandmother’s top cop security guard at Cooma hospital

A senior police officer and guards are stationed at the hospital where tasered great-grandmother Clare Nowland is fighting for life.

Cooma District Hospital, in southeastern NSW, has stepped up security in the wake of national and even international outcry over the incident.

Senior Constable Kristian White, the officer allegedly firing the Taser, has stepped down on full pay as the investigation into the Yallambie Lodge nursing home incident continues.

Daily Mail Australia understands that Sr Const White, who has been with the police for over 10 years, is at least 10 inches taller and three times the height of the petite 5′ 10″ pensioner who weighs just 100lbs.

Ms Nowland, a 95-year-old dementia patient, was in a walker and carrying a knife when she was tasered at her retirement home at around 4am on Wednesday.

The blast caused Mrs. Rowland to fall and hit her head, causing a cerebral hemorrhage.

She is now receiving end-of-life care.

Superintendent John Klepczarek, the commander of the Monaro Police Department, stands outside her hospital room.

“He has been there regularly to answer the family if they had any questions,” the spokesman said.

Family friend, Andrew Thaler, also said private security guards had been deployed at the hospital and “screened anyone who wishes to visit Ms. Nowland.”

Mr Thaler has repeatedly summoned Police Commissioner Karen Webb to sit with Ms Nowland’s family for the difficult task of reviewing the body-worn footage of her tasering as she slowly approached officers on her walker.

Daily Mail Australia has asked NSW Health Minister Ryan Park and the NSW Health Department to confirm that the hospital security detail is in place and why.

Mr Park’s office said it was for NSW Health to answer these questions as they were ‘operational’ and it was ‘inappropriate’ to comment while an active police investigation was underway.

NSW Health, however, did not respond to the questions.

Revelations about security and a senior police officer stationed in her department come as the NSW Police Commissioner comes under pressure for refusing to look at bodycam footage taken by her two officers of the Tasering, saying that she didn’t want the video to “contaminate” her opinion of the tasering. case.

Webb also claimed on Monday morning that an initial police statement on Ms Nowland failed to mention the Taser to protect the family.

The NSW Police’s initial statement – and approved by the NSW Police Commissioner on Wednesday – revealed only that there had been an ‘interaction’ between the great-grandmother and the police.

Ms Nowland was tasered by police after taking a serrated steak knife from the kitchen to a treatment room.

Police and paramedics tried to get her to drop the knife before the male senior officer fired his taser once as she staggered toward him and his partner.

Mrs. Nowland fell and hit her head on the floor, causing a basilar skull fracture and a brain haemorrhage.

2GB Radio host Ben Fordham grilled NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb on Mondayasking why the original statement failed to inform the public of what had actually happened.

“It was necessary for us to make sure the family was aware of the circumstances,” Commissioner Webb replied.

“We didn’t want the family to hear about what happened to their mother on radio and TV, so we had to be a little sensitive about that and if we could talk about it, we did.”

The broadcaster then questioned whether the decision not to mention the Tasering was really intended to protect Ms Nowland’s family, or to “conceal something that might embarrass or be embarrassing to the police?”

‘We’re not hiding. I want to answer, as does the family,” the commissioner said, adding that she had seen the original statement.

‘It was important to me that we took the family into account.’

Fordham then asked if she was behind the decision to leave out the Tasering in the press release – which she admitted she saw before it was sent out.

“Yes, that’s right, as I said, the Nowland family deserves to know what happened from the police rather than hearing about it in the media,” Commissioner Webb said.

The commissioner said she would not look at any body worn footage of the incident by police, and said her thoughts were with Ms Nowland’s family.

But Fordham said it was her duty to see what happened.

“You are the highest ranking officer in NSW, you make the final decision whether this officer stays on the force, I know it won’t be pretty, but ultimately I think it’s your duty to watch it, Commissioner,” he said . said.

Commissioner Webb said she could view the footage but would have to do so after receiving all statements and evidence about the incident.

“I want to answer like everyone else,” she said.

The local priest, Father Mark Croker, visited Mrs Nowland on Sunday and held a Catholic Mass at her hospital bedside. He said that although Mrs. Nowland was demented, she was in good shape and could carry on a conversation.

“The thing about Clare is that the dementia wasn’t quite set in yet, you could still have a conversation with her… she could get a little confused, but that’s an age thing,” he told the Daily Telegraph .

It is clear that the 95-year-old is conscious and her strokes have lessened as her eight children and their families have taken turns speaking to her.

The officer who fired the electric shock weapon joined the force 12 years ago and has since been taken off active duty.

The critical incident investigation has been elevated to ‘level one’ because Ms Nowland suffered an injury that could lead to her death.

Detectives from the State Homicide Squad and Law Enforcement Conduct Commission are investigating what happened and whether the forced use was appropriate.