95-year old woman tasered by police

A 95-year-old woman in a care home in Australia was tasered by police whilst she was holding a steak knife.

Staff called the police after the Grandmother, a resident in a care home suffering from dementia, refused to put down the knife.

Police arrived at the Yallambee Care home in Coomba (186 miles southwest of Sydney) and tried to talk Mrs Nowland into putting the knife down but instead, she began to walk towards them using her walking frame to help her.

One of the police then tasered the woman and she fell to the ground.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Peter Cotter said she was approaching a police officer with the knife, albeit at a slow pace.

Reports say Mrs Nowland is now in hospital where she is falling in and out of consciousness. Her family are with her by her bedside.

The homicide squad is now investigating the incident and the officer who fired the taser has been taken off duty while those investigations continue.

The whole event was recorded on the police body cameras, but New Wales Police said they weren’t going to release the video footage because it wasn’t in the public interest to do so while the investigation is still ongoing.