Giving room instead of Tasing gran 'least of all evils'

Although there was a risk that a 95-year-old with dementia could hurt herself with a knife, an inquest found that it would have been better to leave her alone rather than shoot her with a Taser.

Then-chief constable Kristian James Samuel White fired his weapon at the great-grandmother after being called to the Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma in southern NSW early on the morning of May 17, 2023.

Clare Nowland, who had symptoms of dementia, had taken two steak knives from a kitchen and refused to hand them over.

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She fell and hit her head after being hit in the chest by the Taser’s barbs. She never regained consciousness and died a week later in hospital after a brain haemorrhage.

Geriatrician Susan Kurrle told an inquest into Nowland’s death that the police and paramedics present could have simply left her alone to calm down.

"That in this case would have been the lesser of all evils," said the professor.

Nowland had shown no thoughts of self-harm, and aged care staff had been able to keep the door ajar to monitor, she added.

Professor Joseph Ibrahim said he would have grabbed a chair and sat in the doorway, distracting her with topics about how early in the morning it was.

He shook off any concerns after counsel for Sophie Callan SC said the 95-year-old could have thrown the knife at him.

"The chances that she could have aimed and hit a crucial spot are extremely slim." he said.

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Prof Kurrle told the inquest that there was dementia "childhood development backwards".

This required that anyone approaching a person with dementia do so as they would a young child: friendly, smiling, without being threatening.

During the three-day inquest, which began on Wednesday, State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan examined systemic problems that existed before the Tasering incident.

The focus of the evidence was on dementia care and training for aged care staff, police and ambulance staff.

Judge O’Sullivan heard of numerous alternatives available to White and other police and paramedics present, including contacting Nowland’s daughter, Lesley Lloyd, for help in de-escalating the situation.

Professor Kurrle said the care provided to Nowland by staff at Yallambee Lodge before her death was reasonable and appropriate.

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Following a review by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission in early 2023, the facility was deemed to meet aged care standards, she said.

Nowland’s family are expected to make a statement on the 95-year-old’s death as the inquest concludes later on Friday.

The great-grandmother’s relatives have previously expressed disappointment that White did not spend a day in jail after being convicted of manslaughter by a NSW Supreme Court jury in November 2024.

In March 2025 he was granted a two-year good behavior bond, a decision later upheld by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.

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