<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While there was a risk that a 95-year-old with </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/dementia" rel="" target="" title="dementia"><span>dementia</span></a><span> could hurt herself with a knife, an inquest has heard that leaving her to calm down would have been preferable to shooting her with a Taser.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White fired his </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/weapons" rel="" target="" title="weapon"><span>weapon</span></a><span> at the great-grandmother after being called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/new-south-wales" rel="" target="" title="NSW"><span>NSW</span></a><span> early on the morning of May 17, 2023.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Clare Nowland, who had symptoms of dementia, had taken two steak knives from a kitchen area and refused to give them up.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-politics-live-updates-donald-trump-visits-china-may-15-iran-israel-middle-east-war-blog-rolling-updates/521fb26c-adc2-4a13-b3de-93e92045da89" target="_blank"><strong><span>Chinese vessels allowed to pass through Strait of Hormuz</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Falling and hitting her head after being struck in the chest by the Taser's barbs, she did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a week later after a brain bleed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Geriatrician Susan Kurrle told an inquest into Nowland's death that attending police and paramedics could have just left her alone to calm down.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That in this case would have been the least of all evils," the professor said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/giving-room-instead-of-tasing-gran-least-of-all-evils/918c4cb8-a88d-472a-ac2b-c9fb243b6d1f" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nowland had not shown any prior thoughts of self-harm, and aged care staff could have kept the door ajar a little to supervise, she added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He shrugged off any concerns after counsel assisting Sophie Callan SC said the 95-year-old could have thrown the knife at him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The likelihood that she would have been able to aim it, hit a vital spot is extraordinarily remote," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/police-investigating-body-found-at-park-in-melbournes-west/a4b86629-00dd-4043-8261-b2b9ee8d25f5" rel="" target="" title="Man found dead in park kidnapped hours before death, police believe"><strong><span>Man found dead in park kidnapped hours before death, police believe</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prof Kurrle told the inquest that dementia was "childhood development backwards".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This required anyone approaching a person with dementia to do so as they would a young child - gentle, smiling, without being threatening.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the three-day inquest, which began on Wednesday, State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan has examined systemic issues that existed before the tasering incident.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The focus of the evidence has been </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/police-shun-dementia-training-after-womans-taser-death/04da0749-0a9c-4fed-b0bb-44e99488ce49" rel="" target="" title="dementia care and training"><span>dementia care and training</span></a><span> for aged care staff, police and ambulance officers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Judge O'Sullivan has heard of numerous alternatives available to White and other police and paramedics attending, including contacting Nowland's daughter, Lesley Lloyd, for help de-escalating the situation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prof Kurrle said the care offered by Yallambee Lodge staff to Nowland before her death was reasonable and appropriate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/kash-patel-fbi-director-snorkelling-trip-revealed/86696dff-913b-4aac-b74f-f0aacb533938" target="_blank"><strong><span>FBI director Kash Patel's 'VIP snorkel' at US war tomb revealed</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The facility had been deemed compliant with aged care standards after a review by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission in early 2023, she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nowland's family are expected to give a statement about the 95-year-old's passing as the inquest concludes later on Friday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was given a two-year good behaviour bond in March 2025, a decision which was later upheld by the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="NSW Court"><span>NSW Court</span></a><span> of Criminal Appeal.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/iran-war-vote-congress-house-of-representatives-senate-usa-politics-news/a816e23a-d2e8-479d-8bf0-a4076caf9588" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump comes one vote away from being forced to end war in Iran</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=9news.com.au" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>