A 95-year-old Australian woman died on Wednesday, a week after a police officer shot her with a taser as she walked towards him with a walker and a kitchen knife in hand, a development that has sparked outrage across the world. country.
Clare Nowland, affected by dementia, has been hospitalized in Cooma, New South Wales, since sustaining a fractured skull on May 17 when she fell after police officer Kristian White shot her with a taser.
serious bodily harm
Police announced Nowland’s death hours after reporting White was ordered to appear in court on July 5 to face charges of causing grievous bodily harm, assault causing bodily harm and simple assault. Charges are likely to escalate after the woman’s death.
White and another officer had gone to Yallambee Lodge, a nursing home in Cooma that specializes in patients with special needs. Staff had reported that Nowland had taken a cleaver from the kitchen.
Violence against an elderly disabled woman has sparked a national debate about the use of tasers by police and the training of staff who care for the elderly. Agents may use tasers when lives are in danger.
cause of death
A coroner will determine the cause of death. Police say the injuries the woman sustained were the result of her fall, not the discharge of electricity from the gun.
White is suspended with pay while the incident is investigated. He and his partner have body camera footage of the incident, but police have refused to release it.
The government elected a year ago is increasing allocations for care for the elderly.
