The family of a 95-year-old woman who was tasered by police in a nursing home has spoken out, confirming that she is now in "end-of-life care."
Police were initially called to a care home in Cooma, Australia, last week after reports of a senior citizen walking around with a knife.
On Wednesday, 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 as per a report by 7News.
Upon arriving at the scene, authorities tried to convince the 95-year-old to drop the weapon before a senior constable used his Taser to floor the 43kg victim.
Nowland fell to the floor and hit her head before she was rushed to the hospital.
Speaking of the incident to reporters on Friday, 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 within the walls of the nursing home, Cotter said that he couldn't 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."
As per CNN, police were called to the address around 4:15 AM on Wednesday.
"It is fair to say that she was armed with that knife," Cotter said during the press briefing. "The knife in question was a steak knife with a serrated edge that she had obtained from the kitchen area of the nursing home a couple of hours earlier."
It was then alleged that police and paramedics negotiated with Nowland for a number of minutes, urging her to drop the knife, though "for whatever reasons, Clare did not do that."
"Clare approached the doorway where the police were at that stage, and the officer, the one officer, discharged the Taser," he continued.
"The injury that she suffered as a result of hitting her head on the floor has rendered her bedridden at the moment," said Cotter. "She remains in and out of consciousness."
Video and audio of the incident was captured by two police body cameras, which Cotter described as "confronting."
"I have seen it and I understand what I’ve seen," the Assistant Commissioner added, before confirming that the footage will not be released because "it is not in the public interest."
In an update on Saturday, Police Commissioner Karen Webb said that the 95-year-old is now in a "stable condition."
"Certainly, the next few days will be critical. It’s likely to be very difficult for the family," she told reporters according to 7News. "My thoughts are with the family at this difficult time."
Webb also added that the department is "treating this matter with the utmost seriousness."
Understandably, the family has been left traumatized by the incident.
Andrew Thaler, a local community advocate who has been in touch with Nowland's family, said that the family has requested privacy as they take turns to monitor their loved one by her bedside.
"I don’t think there’s going to be a recovery," Thaler said as per CNN. "Tasers take out bulls and fully grown men. She’s a slip of a woman.
"She had good days and she had bad days, which is standard,” he continued, stating that the senior citizen had been a resident of the nursing facility for five years now.
"This woman couldn’t stand without a walking aid. She’s not that strong. She’s around 43 kilos (95 pounds) and 5-foot-2 (1.58 meters). This is an outrage," he said.
During a new interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain which took place on May 22, the community advocate revealed that the victim is now on "end-of-life care."
"A lot of people and some of the family were shocked that she made it through last night, [she is] still hanging on now. She's on end-of-life care and that's quite dire," they told hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley. "It is outrageous and, it is shocking... That is offset by an enormous outpouring of grief and well wishes and prayers from all around the world.
"We don't have those answers and that's partly why I'm helping to speak out, because that is an answer that everybody wants."
Our thoughts and prayers are with Nowland and her family during this incredibly difficult period.
