<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Only one Australian </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/police" rel="" target="" title="police force"><span>police force</span></a><span> has taken up an offer to train officers to deal with patients with </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/dementia" rel="" target="" title="dementia"><span>dementia</span></a><span> after a great-grandmother was fatally tasered in an </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/aged-care" rel="" target="" title="aged care"><span>aged care</span></a><span> facility.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then-senior constable Kristian James </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/inquest-to-probe-cops-fatal-tasering-of-grandmother/a60dd823-972e-44d9-96a9-40704723a621" rel="" target="" title="Samuel White"><span>Samuel White</span></a><span> fired his </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/men-charged-with-drugs-and-weapon-trafficking-near-geelong/5a1a310d-bd12-4e1d-b75c-24fe8f83c324" rel="" target="" title="weapon"><span>weapon</span></a><span> at 95-year-old Clare Nowland 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> on May 17, 2023.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 48kg great-grandmother, 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>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-prisons-family-members-complain-of-repeated-physical-and-online-visit-cancellations/81867e3d-0117-4937-b3d5-4706b2102074" target="" title="'Can't sleep, can't eat': Families say they are blocked from NSW prisons"><strong><span>'Can't sleep, can't eat': Families say they are blocked from NSW prisons</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>Police forces around the country were invited to use a program teaching first responders how to de-escalate situations involving people with dementia, an inquest into Nowland's death heard on Thursday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, only the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/northern-territory" rel="" target="" title="Northern Territory"><span>Northern Territory</span></a><span> Police Force had taken up the offer from the government-funded Dementia Training Australia, the organisation's executive director, Isabelle Meyer, said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/police-shun-dementia-training-after-womans-taser-death/04da0749-0a9c-4fed-b0bb-44e99488ce49" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While she refrained from telling police exactly what they needed to have in their training, she told the Queanbeyan Coroners Court her organisation was happy to provide clinical support that officers could use in the field.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Counsel assisting Sophie Callan asked if existing mental health crisis training could help officers de-escalate a situation where a person with dementia acted aggressively or violently.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meyer replied that it could, but she warned that police officers were not taught to think of dementia as a reason for the risky behaviour.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-tradies-say-federal-budget-will-hurt-an-already-strained-construction-industry/675fd583-c32c-4ce5-9a96-7a2288c10598" rel="" target="" title="Tradies say federal budget will hurt an already strained construction industry"><strong><span>Tradies say federal budget will hurt an already strained construction industry</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>General de-escalation techniques involved thinking about violence or aggression as linked to drug or alcohol use or mental health issues such as psychosis, she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While these could be dealt with by firm instructions, that tone of voice could be seen by someone with dementia as a threat, she added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"How do we as human beings respond to a threat? We escalate further."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Because police officers did not have dementia front of mind when considering why a person may be acting in a risky manner, they could miss things and potentially make the wrong choice, she added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the three-day inquest, Judge Teresa O'Sullivan will examine systemic issues before the incident and will focus on dementia care and training for aged care staff, police and ambulance officers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A NSW Supreme Court jury found White guilty of manslaughter in November 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond in March 2025, a decision that was later upheld by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 36-year-old was removed from the force in December 2024.</span></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://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" 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>