A 95-year-old woman with dementia is in hospital with a suspected fractured skull and “brain bleed” after she was allegedly Tasered by police at an aged care facility.
Police confirmed they have launched a critical incident investigation into the matter which took place at Cooma’s Yallambee Lodge, which is run by the Snowy Monaro regional council.
“A critical incident investigation has been launched after an elderly woman sustained injuries during an interaction with police at an aged care facility in the state’s south today.
“A critical incident team will now investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Andrew Thaler, who ran as an independent candidate for Eden-Monaro and spoke to Guardian Australia with permission from the woman’s family, claims she was Tasered in the early hours of Wednesday morning after she was found wandering with a knife in her hand.
“That’s somehow resulted in the police Tasering this woman twice, once in front of her chest, and once in the back, then she’s fallen and struck her head,” Thaler claimed.
The woman was taken to Cooma district hospital, where police said she was being monitored.
“The family are grieving because they don’t expect their nan to make it through the the day, or tomorrow at the latest,” Thaler said.
The Snowy Monaro regional council said it is supporting its staff, residents and families “during this difficult time”.
The facility is a 40-bed facility designed for “people who can no longer look after themselves in their own home”.
In a statement police said the investigation would be subject to an independent review.
Josh Pallas, president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, called on police to cease deploying Tasers on vulnerable people following the incident.
“Police overreach and disproportionality are common themes we see repeating over multiple incidents in NSW,” Pallas said. “Surely, there must be more appropriate ways to deal with noncompliant people who are suffering.”
In a review released in February by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission examining 210 incidents involving use of force by NSW police officers between May 2020 and May 2021, Tasers were used during 16 incidents.
The commission said in the report this was “relatively infrequently”.
