A 95-year-old great grandmother with dementia who was tasered by a police officer in a NSW aged care facility is peaceful and comfortable as she receives end-of life care.
Clare Nowland remains in Cooma District Hospital surrounded by her distraught family after she was critically injured when tasered last Wednesday morning.
Priest Father Mark Croker visited Mrs Nowland on Sunday and held a Catholic mass at her hospital bedside.
A mass dedicated to Mrs Nowland was also held at the local St Patrick’s church where she was previously an active member of the parish and local community.
‘She looks peaceful, she’s not conscious but she certainly looks comfortable,’ Fr Croker told The Daily Telegraph.
Body-worn video footage shows dementia sufferer Clare Nowland (pictured) walking slowly with her eyes fixed on the officer before she was tasered and fell backwards
Father Croker also recalled his most recent conversation with Mrs Nowland one week earlier when she was in hospital with minor illness.
She was knitting to pass the time and was in very good form, according to the priest.
‘The thing with Clare is the dementia hadn’t completely taken hold, you could still have a conversation with her … she might get a bit confused, but that’s an age thing’.
It’s understood she’d unconscious and that her eight children and their families were taking turns speaking to her.
‘They are a big family, so they’re coming in and out … but they’re speaking to Clare, they say the last of your senses to go is your hearing, so we know she can hear us,’ Fr Croker said.
Staff at the Yallambee Lodge nursing home called police early last Wednesday morning after Ms Nowland, who has dementia, is 43kg and uses a walking frame, took a serrated steak knife from the kitchen into a small treatment room.
Police and ambulance officers tried to get her to drop the knife before a senior constable fired his taser once as she slowly approached them, Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter said on Friday.
She fell and her head struck the floor.
The officer who fired the electric shock weapon joined the force 12 years ago and has been taken off active duty.
The critical incident investigation has been elevated to ‘level one’ because of Mrs Nowland suffering an injury that could lead to her death.
Detectives from the State Homicide Squad and Law Enforcement Conduct Commission are investigating what happened and if the forced used was appropriate.
Clare Nowland is surrounded by her family as she receives end-of-life care at Cooma Hospital
It has emerged that Ms Nowland was missing for an hour before the tragedy happened at Yallambee Lodge (pictured) at Cooma in southern NSW
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb wouldn’t comment on the possibility of charges being laid.
‘The best detectives in NSW are on this case,’ she said.
‘I have every confidence it is being handled in the appropriate manner.’
Commissioner Webb said it was not common practice for police to attend a nursing home to help staff with their residents.
‘In my experience, it’s quite rare that we would be called to a nursing home,’ she said. ‘It’s not something we come across regularly.’
Commissioner Webb – whose own mother has dementia and lives in a nursing home – also sparked fury when she said she had no intentions of viewing the body-worn camera footage of the incident.
‘I don’t really intend to, no,’ she told reporters. ‘I have heard what is in the body worn, and I don’t see it necessary that I actually view it.’
Andrew Thaler, a spokesperson for Ms Nowland’s family, told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday night the Commissioner has an ‘obligation’ to see the footage.
‘I don’t accept that she doesn’t have to, the buck stops with her,’ he said.
‘She can’t hide, she has to stand up and take responsibility and ensure that the community and family get answers. The whole situation is so egregious.’
Speaking on behalf of the family, he said they wanted the Commissioner to view the bodycam footage of the incident with Ms Nowland’s family.
Clare Nowland (pictured skydiving) is peaceful and comfortable, according to a local priest
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb first sparked outrage on Saturday after she claimed it was ‘not necessary’ to view body cam footage of the incident
Police guidelines say an officer can use a stun gun when violent resistance is occurring or imminent, or when an officer is in danger of being overpowered.
But the guidelines also list a range of situations where a Taser should not be used ‘unless exceptional circumstances exist’.
These include using the weapon on an elderly or disabled subject, or on a subject of particularly small body mass.
Police initially described the incident as ‘an interaction’ between officers and Mrs Nowland, but Ms Webb on Friday stressed the force understood the gravity of the situation.
NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Josh Pallas said police should not be using Tasers on vulnerable people experiencing dementia or a mental health crisis.
The incident was a tragic example of the need for healthcare workers to receive compulsory dementia care training, Dementia Australia said.
‘We have received calls and emails from people living with dementia, their families and carers expressing their anger and sadness for Ms Nowland and her family.’
The Snowy Monaro Regional Council, which runs Yallambee Lodge, said staff had followed procedure and support was being provided to them and residents.
Mrs Nowland’s family is now demanding answers as to what happened at Yallambee Lodge nursing home (pictured) last Wednesday
