Police use Taser on 95-year-old woman

Police shocked a 95-year-old woman with a stun gun as she approached them using a walker and carrying a steak knife in an Australian nursing home, sending her to the hospital in critical condition after her head hit the floor.

The extraordinary police takedown of Clare Nowland, who has dementia, on Wednesday prompted a high-level police internal investigation.

It also has sparked debate about how New South Wales state police use stun guns, which are widely known as Tasers after a major manufacturer. They are a less lethal option than firearms but have occasionally proved more dangerous than other policing options.

Police said Nowland received her injuries from striking her head on the floor, rather than directly from the stun gun’s debilitating electric shock.

Two police officers went to Yallambee Lodge, a nursing home in the town of Cooma that specializes in residents with higher care needs including dementia, after staff reported that Nowland had taken a serrated steak knife from the kitchen.

Cotter said police engaged in “negotiations” with Nowland for several minutes and used the stun gun when she approached the doorway where the officers were standing.

Nicole Lee, president of the advocacy group People with Disability Australia, said she was shocked by the police response.

“She’s either one hell of an agile, fit, fast and intimidating 95-yearold woman, or there’s a very poor lack of judgment on those police officers and there really needs to be some accountability on their side,” Lee said.