Current:Home > My95-year-old great-grandmother tasered by police in Australia nursing home dies of her injuries-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
95-year-old great-grandmother tasered by police in Australia nursing home dies of her injuries
View Date:2024-12-23 18:35:25
A 95-year-old great-grandmother died Wednesday a week after being tasered by an Australian police officer inside her nursing home, police said. The woman, Clare Nowland, "passed away peacefully in hospital just after 7pm this evening, surrounded by family and loved ones," New South Wales state police said in a statement.
An Australian policeman was charged with three counts of assault Wednesday over the tasering of Nowland, who suffered from dementia.
The 33-year-old senior police constable was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault, the police said in a statement.
The officer, who has been suspended with pay, will face court on July 5.
"Investigations into the critical incident continue," the police said.
Officers had been called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home in southern New South Wales by staff who told them a woman was "armed with a knife."
Police said the responding officers urged Nowland to drop a serrated steak knife before she moved toward them "at a slow pace" with her walking frame, prompting one officer to fire his taser at her.
Local businessman and community advocate Andrew Thaler, speaking not long after the incident to Australian television, said Nowland was "about 5-foot-2 and weighs all of 43 kilos [about 95 pounds], she can't walk on her own without walking assistance."
"The use of a taser when a kind word was all she needed, if she was confused — which is what happens with people who have dementia — she needed kind words and assistance and help," Thaler said. "She didn't need the force of the law, as it were."
Some politicians are calling for a New South Wales regional parliamentary inquiry and the release of police bodycam video of the confrontation.
"The tasering of Ms Nowland has sparked a community outrage that shows how desperately we need police reform," state lawmaker Sue Higginson, of the Greens party, said this week. "The refusal to release the bodycam footage protects NSW Police from public scrutiny for all the wrong reasons — the NSW community has a right to know exactly what happened when Clare Nowland was tasered so we can start to take the steps needed for change."
- In:
- Police Shooting
- Australia
- Police Officers
- Nursing Home
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Black women notch historic Senate wins in an election year defined by potential firsts
- Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible Costars Give Rare Glimpse Into His Generous On-Set Personality
- A Single Chemical Plant in Louisville Emits a Super-Pollutant That Does More Climate Damage Than Every Car in the City
- Inside Clean Energy: Net Zero by 2050 Has Quickly Become the New Normal for the Largest U.S. Utilities
- Ben Foster Files for Divorce From Laura Prepon After 6 Years of Marriage
- The debt ceiling, extraordinary measures, and the X Date. Why it all matters.
- Republicans Seize the ‘Major Questions Doctrine’ to Block Biden’s Climate Agenda
- Amazon will send workers back to the office under a hybrid work model
- Tesla issues 6th Cybertruck recall this year, with over 2,400 vehicles affected
- The maker of Enfamil recalls 145,000 cans of infant formula over bacteria risks
Ranking
- J.Crew Outlet Quietly Drops Their Black Friday Deals - Save Up to 70% off Everything, Styles Start at $12
- A deal's a deal...unless it's a 'yo-yo' car sale
- Mod Sun Appears to Reference Avril Lavigne Relationship After Her Breakup With Tyga
- Dylan Lyons, a 24-year-old TV journalist, was killed while reporting on a shooting
- Brian Kelly asks question we're all wondering after Alabama whips LSU, but how to answer?
- GOP Senate campaign chair Steve Daines plans to focus on getting quality candidates for 2024 primaries
- Noxious Neighbors: The EPA Knows Tanks Holding Heavy Fuels Emit Harmful Chemicals. Why Are Americans Still at Risk?
- Biden Could Reduce the Nation’s Production of Oil and Gas, but Probably Not as Much as Many Hope
Recommendation
-
The Cowboys, claiming to be 'all in' prior to Dak Prescott's injury, are in a rare spot: Irrelevance
-
Race, Poverty, Farming and a Natural Gas Pipeline Converge In a Rural Illinois Township
-
Sarah Jessica Parker Weighs In on Sex and the City's Worst Man Debate
-
Is Project Texas enough to save TikTok?
-
Residents urged to shelter in place after apparent explosion at Louisville business
-
Fossil Fuel Companies Took Billions in U.S. Coronavirus Relief Funds but Still Cut Nearly 60,000 Jobs
-
Small Nuclear Reactors Would Provide Carbon-Free Energy, but Would They Be Safe?
-
Tesla recalls nearly 363,000 cars with 'Full Self-Driving' to fix flaws in behavior