THERE have been few winners in the case of Clare Nowland, pictured, the grandmother in her 90s who died after she was Tasered by police in Cooma earlier this year.
An officer involved is facing criminal charges, which should rightfully be left to courts to determine, but the public focus has shifted to precisely how the incident came to public attention.
NSW premier Chris Minns has rejected calls that his police minister, Swansea MP Yasmin Catley, should be sacked over new details that emerged this week.
Freedom of information laws have helped reporters piece together the sequence of events in disclosing exactly what happened, unearthing an earlier draft that included several details - including the use of a Taser - redacted from what was finally reported to the public in 71 words.
After issuing the initial release, police did not make further statements until detailed media reports emerged more than 36 hours after the tasering. Police say they were more focused on informing Ms Nowland's family, an important step. It is, however, not one that absolves them of accountability to the public. Given they released a statement regardless, it is hard to argue that leaving out details unflattering to police did much in the way of keeping Ms Nowland anonymous.
It is important that how police operate is transparent. It establishes trust and familiarity in the processes of which they are an integral part. Releasing details of significant operations, particularly in the most divisive instances, is a cornerstone of that process.
Questions rightly emerge when details at hand are withheld from public scrutiny. How firm is a commitment to transparency in a taxpayer-funded organisation that can edit what is disclosed about its actions? What would have happened if, hypothetically, further details had not emerged through media efforts in subsequent days? We cannot know, but we can ensure we never have to find out in a future case.
The level of transparency appears to have even left police minister Yasmin Catley in the dark about precisely what was known when. She told parliament on Tuesday she did not know about the more detailed draft until the opposition raised media reports.
The systems in place appear to have fallen short of a frank and timely release of information to which the public is entitled. While they may have avoided immediate scrutiny, there is now plenty to go around.
