- An Australian police officer is ordered to appear in court over the death of a 95-year-old woman hit with a stun gun
- The victim, identified as Clare Nowland, had dementia and walked toward the officer with her walker while carrying a steak knife
- Constable Kristian White faces charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm and others related to the incident
An Australian police officer has been ordered to appear in court following the tragic death of a 95-year-old woman struck with a stun gun during a confrontation at a nursing home.
The situation caused outrage among Australians and involved an officer who fired his taser at the elderly woman who was walking toward him with her walker while carrying a steak knife. The woman was identified as Clare Nowland, who had dementia and was hospitalized in Cooma in New South Wales, following the incident.
Elderly Australian Woman Dies After Being Struck With Stun Gun
She has been in the medical establishment since her skull was fractured after falling on May 17 following the confrontation with Constable Kristian White, who fired his taser at the elderly woman. Police authorities announced the woman's death a few hours after an announcement that White was ordered to appear in court on July 5, as per ABC News.
Now, with Nowland's death, the charges against White will most likely be upgraded to reflect the severity of his actions. The incident began when the police officer and one of his colleagues went to Yallambee Lodge, a nursing home in Cooma.
It specializes in residents with higher care needs, such as dementia. The officials were called after the 95-year-old woman reportedly took a serrated steak knife from the establishment's kitchen.
The brutal violence against the elderly and incapacitated women resulted in a national debate regarding the police use of stun guns in such situations and the competence of aged care staff. Police officers have the authority to use tasers when lives are in danger.
Police Officer Ordered To Appear in Court
Following Nowland's death, a coroner will be responsible for determining the 95-year-old woman's cause of death. Police authorities said that the elderly woman's injuries were from her falling onto the floor and not the electric charge from the stun gun used by White, according to NBC News.
The police officer involved in the incident was placed under police internal investigation since the confrontation and has been suspended from duty with pay since Tuesday. White and his partner at the time of the incident have images of their encounter with Nowland, but police officials have refused to release them.
In a statement, New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said he had not seen the confrontation's video footage. However, she noted that it would remain private until the end of the internal investigation.
Webb said that Nowland and her family deserve that the investigation be done properly, saying it will take some time. She added that they were working to ensure that the police officers involved in the incident were afforded procedural fairness. She argued that anything they say should not prejudice the investigation, said the New York Daily News.
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