Family sues after 95yo Cooma grandmothers taser death at Yallambee Lodge

The family of Clare Nowland, a 95-year-old grandmother from Cooma who died after being tasered by police at the Yallambee Lodge retirement home in May, is suing the state government, claiming battery and negligence.

The civil lawsuit, exclusively reported by The Daily Telegraph, alleges that NSW Police acted unreasonably on the night of the incident and attempted to downplay the events in front of the facility’s staff.

Senior Constable Kristian White, one of the officers involved, is facing separate criminal charges but is not listed as a defendant in the civil lawsuit.

His colleague, Sergeant Rachel Pank, is not facing any charges and also is not a defendant in the civil claim.

The court documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph provide a detailed account of what allegedly transpired in the early hours of May 17, and purport to detail evidence from body-worn police cameras.

It began with a staff member at the retirement home calling an ambulance at 4am.

At 4.49am, the two police officers arrived at Yallambee Lodge and found Mrs Nowland seated at a desk inside the nurse’s treatment room, allegedly holding a knife in her right hand.

At 5.08am, the officers donned slash-proof gloves and considered disarming Mrs Nowland.

According to the transcript, Mr White allegedly suggested, “Actually, would it be an idea to get her out where we can just grab the knife off her.”

Ms Pank allegedly responded, “I feel like I could do it right now.”

When Mrs Nowland, who suffered from dementia, stood with her walker, the officers issued warnings, the Telegraph reports the claim states.

“Oi, we’re not playing this game, Clare,” Mr White allegedly said. “You’re going to put that down.”

Approximately 20 seconds later, another warning was allegedly given, “This is your first warning. You see this. This is a taser. Drop it now. See, you keep coming, you’re going to get tasered. Stop now. Don’t think I’m going to give you another warning.”

Within a minute, Mr White allegedly fired the taser from a distance of two metres, causing Mrs Nowland to fall from her walker and hit her head.

The officers allegedly responded by asking if she was OK and remarking on the unexpected outcome.

The family alleges that the officers’ discussion of the incident while Mrs Nowland was on the floor was “demeaning, dismissive, and self-serving” and displayed “disregard for the harm they had caused to Clare”.

They also allege that neither officer expressed any regret or remorse to the family.

The family also criticised how Mrs Nowland was treated after being tasered.

They claim that the actions of Mr White, which included further restraining her and pressing her into the ground, were humiliating and unnecessary, given her loss of consciousness and the likelihood of a serious head injury.

Mrs Nowland passed away in the hospital a week later due to head injuries described as “blunt force trauma”.

She was surrounded by her eight children, 24 grandchildren, and 30 great-grandchildren.

The family’s claim accuses Mr White of firing the taser, knowing that Mrs Nowland was elderly, disabled, had limited mobility, was unable to move quickly, and had a small body mass.

They contend that the officers did not correctly consider alternative and safer methods to contain Mrs Nowland and de-escalate the situation.

The claim characterises Mr White’s actions as a “grossly disproportionate and excessive use of force”.

Mr White was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault.

He has been suspended from the force with pay. Ms Pank faces no criminal charges in connection with the incident.

The family’s lawsuit also asserts that the use of the taser violated police guidelines and that Ms Pank, as the senior officer present, failed to direct her colleague not to use the weapon on the 95-year-old.

In response to the incident, the police have initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mrs Nowland’s death with a critical incident team.

This investigation will be independently reviewed, although calls for the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission to investigate the matter have been declined.

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The Nowland family is seeking damages over Clare’s death, including funeral and wake expenses, loss of financial support, damages for the curtailment of the expectation of life and loss of financial support.

In civil cases, the NSW District Court can award damages of up to $1.25 million.

The case has been adjourned to October 26.

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