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https://metro.co.uk/2023/05/19/austr...lice-18810279/
A 95-year-old woman with dementia was tasered in a nursing home - and is now in critical condition in hospital.
An investigation has been launched following the incident in Cooma, a town in New South Wales, Australia.
Clare Nowland had been found holding a serrated steak knife in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Staff at the Yallambee Lodge nursing home had then contacted the emergency services around 4.15am
Two officers rushed to the scene alongside paramedics and the group tried to 'de-escalate the matter' for a 'number of minutes', police said.
Ms Nowland had left her bedroom, taken a knife from a kitchen and walked to a medical treatment room.
The pensioner, who weighs just 43kg, was tasered by an officer as she slowly made her way towards the police.
She fell to the ground and hit her head.
Ms Nowland was rushed to hospital where she remains in a critical condition. Her family remains at her side.
North South Wales elevated the investigation to a 'level one' stage due to the fact the injury could lead to death.
Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter held a 25-minute press conference where he provided updates on the situation.
Reporters urged him to explain his immediate reaction to which he admitted it was 'a matter of concern'.
He said: 'It is equally fair to say that she is in a state of ill health.
'She is a 95-year-old lady who suffers from some of the general frailties of that age, but the injury that she suffered as a result of hitting her head on the floor has rendered her bedridden at the moment.'
When asked if Ms Nowland was engaging with police in a threatening way, Mr Cotter said she was moving 'at a slow pace' and using a walking frame.
'But she had a knife,' he added.
The officer who deployed the taser, who has 12 years experience in the job, has stood down from duties.
Mr Cotter said: 'No officer, not one of us, is above the law and all our actions will be scrutinised robustly, from a criminal perspective as well as a departmental perspective.'
The police officers sent to the Yallambee Lodge nursing home had been wearing body cameras, but the footage has not been released by police.
'It is confronting footage,' Mr Cotter said. 'It forms a significant and integral part of the investigation and it is not in the public interest to be releasing that.'
Ms Nowland's family is working with police on the investigation as they await updates on her health.
The 95-year-old was well-known in the community for years of volunteering work in the community.
She also had taken part in a skydive for her 80th birthday.
