An Australian police chief who is investigating the incident in which a 95-year-old woman with dementia was tasered at a nursing home has admitted that she has not yet watched the footage.
Police were called to Yallambee Lodge care home in Cooma, Australia, at around 4:00 AM last Wednesday after reports of an elderly woman with a knife.
As per 7News, Clare Nowland, a great-grandmother with dementia, had taken a serrated steak knife from the kitchen into a small treatment room when staff at the home called the police.
When they arrived at the location, authorities tried to "reason" with the 95-year-old as she walked towards them at a "slow pace" with her walking frame, before a senior officer deployed his Taser.
Nowland fell to the floor and hit her head and was rushed to the hospital.
She is believed to have fractured her skull and suffered a serious brain bleed after hitting her head on the floor. Her family is now taking turns to be by her bedside in the wake of the tragic incident as she receives what has been described as "end of life care."
When speaking to reporters just two days after, Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter said: "We can’t talk too much specifically about the incident but generally we say [the Taser] is there as a piece of equipment to defend yourself when you think your life or someone else’s is in danger."
When revealing further details of what took place at the care home, Cotter said that he could not confirm what was going through the officer's mind when he saw Nowland with the knife.
"At the time she was tasered she was approaching police," he continued. "It is fair to say at a slow pace. She had a walking frame. But she had a knife. I can’t take it any further as to what was going through anyone’s mind when he used the Taser."
The incident has caused global outrage, with many questioning why a senior police officer would resort to using such drastic and painful methods to detain a non-threatening dementia patient.
The officer who deployed the Taser has also been suspended from their duty with pay while an investigation is carried out, and while the entire ordeal was caught on the bodycams of both the officers who were called to the scene, it has not been released publicly.
However, New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb has admitted that she has not yet watched the footage back, citing the department's processes as the reason why.
When appearing on Sydney’s Radio 2GB, Webb said: "It may be the case in the future where I have to make a determination based on a brief of evidence, without being tainted by having seen a part of the brief without context.
"It’s important that we follow a process," she continued before adding: "I will make my determination impartially."
Webb also highlighted the importance of making sure all procedures were followed, saying that the footage must be viewed "in the context of all the other statements and evidence."
"That’s just going to take time [and] I’m not going to interfere in that process ... it would be inappropriate for me to push in and interfere in that process," she added.
The family released a statement which read: "The Nowland family wishes to express our profound love and affection for our Mum, Nana and Great Grandmother Clare.
"Well respected, much loved and a giving member of her local community, Clare is the loving and gentle natured matriarch of the Nowland family," it continued. "This is a most worrying and distressing time for our family and we are united in our support for Clare and for each other."
The family emphasized that they are sticking together during this difficult time before thanking people for their support.
"We thank everyone here in Cooma, the wider region and, in fact, the whole country and around the world for the outpouring of support for her and her ongoing battle with dementia- it touches so many. While we fully understand the interest of the media we kindly ask all media representatives to respect the family's - and Clare's - privacy at this very difficult time.
"Thank you to everyone," the statement concluded.
Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult period.
