Shocking footage has captured the moment six police officers used two sets of handcuffs on a panicked and distressed 81-year-old woman with dementia.
Police body-worn vision shows Rachel Grahame, who weighs just 45kg, crying out in fear and distress as police restrain her late at night in St Basil’s aged care home in Randwick, in Sydney‘s eastern suburbs, in October 2020.
The footage has emerged as NSW Police are called into question over their use of force after Clare Nowland, 95, was tasered at an aged care home on Wednesday.
Ms Grahame had allegedly snatched a nurse’s badge, lanyard and ID card and staff were struggling to restrain her when police were called.
The footage shows police grappling with Ms Grahame’s wrists and legs as the officers ask her to ‘calm down’.
Police officers can be seen restraining Ms Grahame’s arms and legs. The 81-year-old spent six weeks in hospital following the incident
‘Why? That’s rubbish,’ she responded.
‘Because we don’t want to have to hold you,’ an officer said.
Ms Grahame is seen telling them they do not have to hold her before someone insisted: ‘We do when you’re acting like this’.
‘Hey! Hey!’ Ms Grahame cried out as handcuffs are locked on her wrists and officers grip her frail-looking arms.
She is seen calling one of the police officers a ‘big brute’ before she starts screaming out in pain.
One pair of handcuffs was taken off because it was reportedly too tight.
Another set, which police told her was looser, remained locked on her wrists for over 20 minutes.
The shocking incident, which went on for almost an hour, prompted Ms Grahame’s family to sue NSW Police in the state’s district court.
The family accused officers of assault, battery and false imprisonment.
Police settled and paid compensation to the family in November 2021, The Guardian reported.
Rachel’s daughter Emma Grahame revealed the police were regularly called to the nursing home.
‘My mother’s former “home” called the ambos or cops all the time, whenever they couldn’t cope, as they had no training and were understaffed,’ she tweeted.
Officers gripped Ms Grahame’s frail-looking arms rightly (pictured) as she cried out multiple times during the ordeal
The footage has emerged as NSW Police are called into question over their use of force after Clare Nowland, 95, was tasered at an aged care home on Wednesday
‘Remember, the cops don’t have to come, or do anything once they see the situation.’
She made the decision to go public because of her outrage at the revelations that police tasered 95-year-old dementia sufferer Ms Nowland in Cooma last week.
‘It just showed me that the police have learned nothing from the actions that we took against them,’ Grahame told the Guardian.
The family obtained the video and police notes of the incident through freedom of information laws.
The notes say that police were told by the facility’s staff that Ms Grahame was ‘aggressive’ and had snatched the security pass from a nurse.
Police notes reportedly said that when they arrived, she ‘struck out at one officer with her arm, striking the officer on the arm twice’.
The dementia sufferer spent six weeks in St Vincent’s Hospital following the ordeal.
The case also prompted a complaint against care home St Basil’s.
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission launched an investigation and described the actions of police and staff as ‘abhorrent’ and sanctioned St Basil’s.
A spokesperson for NSW Police said: ‘This was a civil matter that has been settled. As such, it would be inappropriate to provide comment.’
The footage comes as a police commissioner came under fire for a disastrous press conference held after Ms Nowland was tasered by a senior constable.
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.
Her response came after questions were raised about the use of force by police on an elderly woman who required the assistance of a walking frame to move around.
Ms Nowland was ‘armed’ with a steak knife and had been moving at a ‘slow pace’ before she was tasered and left in a critical condition.
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
Commissioner Webb has come under fire for a second time over her comments made about police responding to incidents at aged care homes.
At a press conference on Saturday, 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,’ Commissioner Webb said.
‘It’s not something we come across regularly.’
Her claims have been savaged by an aged care expert and consultant, who said calling police was ‘standard protocol’ for staff when there was a reported assault.
Paul Sadler, former chief executive of the Aged and Community Care Providers Association, appeared to cast doubt on the commissioner’s claims.
‘It’s more common than perhaps the police commissioner was aware of,’ Mr Sadler told the ABC.
‘That’s usual protocol where there’s an instance of a reported assault.’
Police are reviewing body-worn camera footage of the ‘confronting’ incident.
