A coronial inquest has begun into the death of Clare Nowland. Photo: Supplied.
An inquest has begun to examine the circumstances around the death of 95-year-old Clare Nowland in the hope of preventing another similar tragedy.
Her death received a huge amount of attention from the media and authorities after then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White tasered her. Ms Nowland was holding a knife at the time in Cooma’s Yallambee Lodge on 17 May 2023.
CCTV captured her movements around the lodge that morning, as well as the search for her.
White had the taser pointed at her for one minute before infamously saying, “Nah, bugger it”, and firing.
She fell over, hit her head on the ground and died from her injuries seven days later.
White was found guilty of manslaughter and lost his job with the police force, but was spared jail time before an attempt to appeal his sentence was rejected by the courts.
When a coronial inquest began into Ms Nowland’s death on Wednesday (13 May), Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan welcomed the members of her family who were present in the Queanbeyan courtroom.
“I’m sorry it’s under sad circumstances,” she said.
Counsel assisting the coroner, Sophie Callan SC, in her opening submissions, said the death of a parent was always difficult.
“Losing a parent, as occurred here, as a result of a police action inside an aged care facility … is almost impossible to comprehend,” she said.
She said Ms Nowland’s family had to navigate their grief in the context of a criminal trial and under the media’s spotlight.
Ms Callan said she couldn’t do justice to the contribution Ms Nowland made to her community over her life, but the inquest would later hear from Ms Nowland’s family.
She said the great-grandmother began residing at Yallambee Lodge, which was run by the Snowy Monaro Regional Council, in 2018, before she increasingly displayed signs of dementia from early 2023. This diagnosis was confirmed after her death.
Ms Nowland took two small steak knives from the kitchen before using her walking frame to move in and out of residents’ rooms early in the morning of 17 May 2023. Staff were unable to get her to drop the knives.
A nurse called Triple Zero and asked for paramedics to help with “a very aggressive resident” who was carrying “little knives”.
Ms Callan said that, as knives had been mentioned, the Triple Zero operator also asked for police to attend, which is why White was called to the nursing home that morning.
She said police officers were taught that a non-compliant person armed with a knife presented a risk of harm. But training procedures also stated that due to the increased risk of injury associated with tasers, they should only be used against elderly people in exceptional circumstances.
Barrister Christine Melis, who represented Commissioner of NSW Police Force Mal Lanyon, said the commissioner accepted the decision to fire the taser that morning should not have occurred.
Ms Callan also said the evidence indicated NSW Police did not have specific training for dealing with people living with dementia, but officers were now required to take annual mental health training.
She said several issues raised by the inquest included whether Ms Nowland’s care and treatment were adequate, why police were called to the lodge, what alternatives aside from firing a taser were available that morning, and what training could be provided to first responders and care staff on dealing with people suffering from dementia.
The inquest, which will run for three days, also hopes to explore whether engagement between NSW Police and NSW Ambulance could be improved.
Original Article published by Albert McKnight on Region Canberra.
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