As the Police Investigation into how and why a senior constable of 12-years used a taser to disarm Clare Nowland at an aged care facility last week, the 95-year-old has been visited by her local priest.
The Daily Telegraph spoke to Father Mark Croker, who visited Mrs Nowland in Cooma Hospital on Sunday, where she is receiving end of life care.
“She looks peaceful, she’s not conscious but she certainly looks comfortable,” Fr Croker, who conducted a bedside mass yesterday told The Telegraph.
Fr Croker said Mrs Nowland's eight children had been with her.
“They are a big family, so they’re coming in and out ... but they’re speaking to Clare, they say the last of your senses to go is your hearing, so we know she can hear us,” Fr Croker said.
Police were called to aged care facility Yallambee Lodge at about 4am on Wednesday morning after Nowland, who has dementia, was holding a steak knife.
Nowland, who weighs 43 kilograms, was allegedly using a walking frame, holding the knife and approaching police "slowly". The police officers attempted to negotiate with Nowland to drop the knife, which she refused to do.
A male senior constable with more than a decade working for the police force, then tasered Nowland, causing her to fall and hit her head on the ground. She has been left with critical injuries, including a fractured skull and brain bleed and is not expected to survive the attack.
Patrick McGrath, director of community engagement at St Vincent de Paul, where Nowland volunteered for 50 years, described her as a "tireless worker" and said there has been a "level of shock" in the community following the incident.
Video footage of the incident, which has been described by Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter as "confronting" was captured by the officers' body cams and will now form part of the investigation being led by homicide squad detectives.
The officer who fired the electric shock weapon has been taken off active duty.
"This is a very live and very serious investigation which the Homicide Squad is investigating, and in the rights of everyone involved, the investigation process has to carry on," Cotter said.
Speaking to Sky News, local independent candidate, Andrew Thaler, who was speaking on behalf of the family said that Nowland has a big family who have gathered at the hospital.
"They're effectively in a pre-grieving, they know their nan might not wake up, they might not get her back. But they have to wait for her passing, that's troubling and unfortunate at the same time," Thaler said.
Meanwhile, advocates are questioning the lack of care that was shown for Nowland and the lack of police and healthcare worker training that may have contributed to the incident
NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Josh Pallas said that police should not be using Tasers on vulnerable people experiencing dementia or a mental health crisis.
Dementia Australia have also spoken out, saying the organisation has received calls and emails from family members and carers expressing their anger at the treatment of people living with dementia in Australia and reporting their sadness for Nowland and her family.
Fr Croker told The Telegraph Clare's dementia was in it's early stages.
“The thing with Clare is the dementia hadn’t completely taken hold, you could still have a conversation with her ... she might get a bit confused, but that’s an age thing," he said.
It's not the first time the great-grandmother has made headlines. In 2008, Nowland was filmed for a feel-good segment by the ABC when she decided to go skydiving for her 80th birthday.
Her children had paid for the trip for her birthday after she requested the adventure. In the footage, she can be seen with her cropped white hair wearing a purple and pink skydiving suit, smiling as she sits strapped to an instructor in the plane, who tells her how fast the plane is climbing.
The pair then leap from the plane and descend safely to the ground, met by cheers and laughs from Nowland's family.
Image: Facebook.
With AAP.
Top Comments
I wasn't there, I didn't see it, but I can 100% guarentee that I could disarm a 95 year old woman on a walker with a knife without tasering her. That office did not fear for his safety, my guess he was frustrated.
Not sure why you are going so hard to defend this police officer when his own team aren't.