Aged care home staff had called emergency services after Nowland was seen with the serrated knife.
“The call was along the lines of one of the patients, Clare, has a knife in her possession,” NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter said.
“Negotiations commenced with Clare to essentially drop the knife but for whatever reasons, Clare did not do that,” he said.
“One of the police officers who attended, a senior constable, activated his Taser, which struck Clare, whereby she fell to the ground, striking her head.”
She was treated by staff and paramedics at the nursing home before being rushed to Cooma Base Hospital, where she is currently in “ill health” and lapsing in and out of consciousness.
“I am not in a position to talk about her diagnosis or her prognosis except to say she is in a critical condition and her friends and family surround her,” Cotter said.
Nowland is well-known in the community and has a family of children and great-grandchildren supporting her.
When asked what threat level Nowland presented the officers with, Cotter said the elderly woman was “approaching police”.
“It is fair to say at a slow pace,” he said.
“She had a walking frame, but she had a knife.
“I can’t take it any further what was going through anyone’s mind with the use of a Taser.
“That is for them to talk to.”
The senior constable who fired the Taser has about 12 years of experience and is no longer on duty.
“We are very concerned about the incident and that’s why we have the investigation underway,” Cotter said.
“His duty type will be under review … at this stage, he is not operational, he is not in the workplace,” Cotter said.
A critical incident investigation has been launched and will be led by the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad, as is standard.
Cotter confirmed the constable’s actions will be examined from a criminal perspective.
“Any member of the police force is not above the law, our actions, no matter what we do and wherever we do it, we are always under review.
“Criminal actions could be taken.
“We are concerned about the matter, that is why we have commenced the investigation we have.”
The investigation has been nominated as a level one critical incident, the most serious investigation of its type.
“The criteria is that an injury that leads to death or imminent death, and with exceptional circumstances attached to it, leads it to be classified as the highest level of investigation we can do internally around the matter.
“The policy states that at a level one critical incident, the Homicide Squad are involved.”
Cotter said both officers had their bodyworn video activated and he had seen the “confronting footage”.
“It forms a significant and integral part of the investigation and it is not in the public interest to be releasing that,” he said.
He confirmed the Taser was deployed once and should be primarily used for self-defence or to protect colleagues and members of the public.
Nowland’s ability to access the knife in the nursing home will also form part of the investigation.
“We treat this matter with extreme significance,” Cotter said.
The family have asked for privacy at this time.
