Would you say the act of disabling a slow-moving elderly person carrying a steak knife with a Taser is excessive?
It's the question still on everyone's minds following last week's revelations a 95-year-old Clare Nowland, pictured, was Tasered by police at a nursing home, rendering her unconscious and with serious head injuries.
Not surprisingly, the NSW Police assistant commissioner has confirmed the homicide squad is investigating.
"That is because of their independence ... but also their specialist skill set in dealing with complicated and complex legal matters that surround potentially coronial investigations as a result of homicide," the assistant commissioner said on Friday.
There is no doubt police must employ particular techniques and tactics when dealing with people with mental health issues.
This horrifying incident brings to mind the tragic 2001 case of Jonathan Crowley, the Canberra man rendered paralysed after police shot him while he was suffering from a psychotic episode on a suburban Canberra street. That was more than 20 years ago; it was incidents such as this one that led to routine use of Tasers by police.
But this latest incident suggests a blind spot in police tactics when dealing with someone with mental health issues. It also raises questions as to why police were called to the scene in the first place - how one elderly woman could have been considered such a risk that extra force was deemed necessary to hold her back.
We're only two years out from the royal commission into aged care, and this episode suggests there are still areas that remain unaddressed. Finally, aside from the fact the incident has raised serious issues about policing techniques and measures taken by aged care homes when dealing with potentially dangerous situations, the police themselves have been characteristically reluctant in releasing appropriate information to the public relating to the incident.
The initial incident alert described it as "an interaction" with police, as though there had been any kind of discussion or process of reasoning that somehow led to an elderly and unwell person being rendered unconscious by a Taser. This has been a series of unacceptable outcomes stemming from an incident that, as is so often the case, would have only lasted minutes. Hopefully the investigation will deliver answers that can prevent such a scenario unfolding again.
