A 95-year-old Australian woman died on Wednesday, a week after being verbally abused by a police officer at her retirement home. Police said the woman was “armed with a knife.”
• Also read: 95-year-old woman hospitalized after being stunned by Taser
“It is with great sadness that we confirm tonight the death of Clare Nowland, 95, in Cooma,” the New South Wales (South East) State Police said in a statement. She died “peacefully” in the hospital surrounded by her family and loved ones, she continued.
A few hours earlier, a 33-year-old police officer who had been suspended from duty had been charged in connection with this case, among other things, for intentionally causing serious bodily harm. He will appear in court on July 5.
Clare Nowland has been in critical condition in hospital since she was electrocuted on May 17, an incident that shocked Australians to the core.
Police had been called to the Yallambee Lodge care home in southern New South Wales by staff who told them a woman was “armed with a knife”.
They said they urged Clare Nowland to drop the serrated meat knife before approaching them “at a slow pace” with her walker, prompting one of the officers to use his taser on her.
In the wake of this case, calls have been made for a parliamentary inquiry to be opened in New South Wales and for the body camera images of the defaulting police officer to be disseminated.
The fact that Ms Nowland was targeted with a taser “has sparked outrage among the people of the state, which shows how badly we need police reform,” local environmentalist Sue Higginson said this week.