Australia police ‘taser’ 95-year-old in nursing home

SYDNEY: Australian police tasered a 95-year-old great-grandmother with dementia inside her nursing home, local media said on Thursday, sending her to hospital with unspecified injuries.

The woman, identified by media as Clare Nowland, was reportedly carrying a knife when staff at the Yallambee Lodge home in southern New South Wales called the police on Wednesday.

She “sustained injuries during an interaction with police at an aged care facility”, New South Wales state police said in a statement, which made no mention of a Taser being fired.

The 95-year-old was being monitored at Cooma District Hospital, police said. “A critical incident team will now investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident,” the statement added. “That investigation will be subject to independent review.” Police declined to give further details.