The state government of Australia is currently being sued by the family of a 95-year-old great-grandmother over fatal police tasering.
Clare Nowland (Photo: Al Jazeera)
State Government Sued Following The Police Tasering Of A Great-Grandmother
A week after being blasted with an electronic stun gun by a state police officer at her nursing home in southern New South Wales, dementia patient Clare Nowland passed away last May 24 due to police tasering. According to the lawyers of her family, they will be suing the state government over the fatal police tasering on the 95-year-old woman.
Over the police tasering incident, a 33-year-old senior police officer was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault, and recklessly causing grievous bodily damage. His court date is September 6. Staff at the Yallambee Lodge care home in southern New South Wales phoned police and reported that a lady there was “armed with a knife.”
The police tasering occurred as police ordered Nowland to drop the serrated knife she was holding while walking towards them “at a slow pace”. Nowland’s actions compelled one officer to fire at her with his stun gun.
Aftermath of Nowland’s Police Tasering Incident
Speaking on Australian television shortly after the event, local entrepreneur and community advocate Andrew Thaler stated 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.”
Thaler went on to add that all Nowland needed were kind words and assistance. The police tasering incident was entirely unnecessary. According to court records, a pre-trial meeting for the police tasering case has been set for August 24 at Bega District Court.
READ ALSO: Iowa Teens Plead Guilty For Murdering Spanish Teacher Over Bad Grades
