On May 3, 2026, a 95-year-old woman, Clare Nowland, was tasered by police in Rosemeadow, Sydney. This incident has sparked outrage and serious concerns about police training and the use of tasers in New South Wales.
The events unfolded when officers responded to a situation involving family violence. Clare Nowland, who resided at an aged care facility and exhibited signs of dementia, was reportedly armed with a knife. The police intervention escalated quickly—officer Kristian White deployed his taser.
Clare suffered severe injuries from the taser deployment and succumbed to a brain bleed just a week later. Her family is devastated. Mick Nowland, her son, expressed disbelief: “I still can’t understand why either of them would think that their actions were appropriate. It should never, ever have happened.”
In the aftermath of Clare’s death, the community has been left grappling with the implications. Superintendent Grant Healey acknowledged the tragedy: “This is a very tragic incident and there was no way for us to predict this type of thing was going to occur.” The incident has raised questions about the adequacy of current NSW Police policies regarding taser use.
While an inquest into Clare’s death is set to focus on police training regarding taser use, some officials believe that current training protocols are sufficient. Superintendent Pat Sharkey stated confidently, “I believe the training is first class.” However, many community members remain unconvinced.
As part of ongoing efforts to address public safety concerns, Operation Soteria recently took place in Tamworth. This operation resulted in 17 arrests and 51 charges over three days, but it did not alleviate fears surrounding how force is applied during police interventions.
The community is now awaiting the findings from the upcoming inquest into Clare Nowland’s death. Many hope it will lead to changes that prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.
