Police in New South Wales said on Wednesday that a 95-year-old lady who was tasered by officers in her Australian nursing home last week has passed away.
Great-grandmother Clare Nowland was in critical condition in the hospital after suffering severe head injuries when she collapsed to the ground after being tasered.
According to a statement from the police on Facebook, “Mrs. Nowland passed away peacefully in hospital just after 7pm this evening, surrounded by family and loved ones who have requested privacy during this sad and difficult time.”
Charges against the officer who allegedly tasered Nowland include assault and recklessly causing great bodily harm.
New South Wales (NSW) Police Commissioner Karen Webb announced the charges against the unidentified 33-year-old senior constable Wednesday.
Last week, NSW Police Force Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter told reporters that police were called to Nowland’s care home in the town of Cooma, New South Wales, around 4:15 a.m. to reports of a resident with a knife.
“At the time she was tasered, she was approaching police. It is fair to say at a slow pace. She had a walking frame. But she had a knife,” Cotter told reporters on Friday.
Video of the incident was captured by two police body cameras but the footage hasn’t been publicly released.
NSW police guidelines say that tasers should only used on elderly or disabled people in “exceptional circumstances.”
Family friend Andrew Thaler said before the incident Nowland was frail and unable to stand unaided. She weighed just 43 kilograms (95 pounds) and was 5-foot-2 (1.58 meters) tall and was suffering dementia.
After charges were laid, he questioned why it had taken police so long to act.
“Why has it taken so long? Anyone else would have been charged straight away,” Thaler said.
Earlier this week, Nowland’s family released a statement asking for privacy, and thanking people for their support.
“Clare is the loving and gentle natured matriarch of the Nowland family,” said the statement according to CNN affiliate 9 News.
“This is a most worrying and distressing time for our family and we are united in our support for Clare and for each other.
“We stand together. We thank everyone here in Cooma, the wider region and, in fact, the whole country and around the world for the outpouring of support for her and her ongoing battle with dementia – which touches so many.”