Sydney: According to a state police chief on Saturday, Australian police will not release bodycam footage of an officer tasering a 95-year-old great-grandmother suffering from dementia inside of her nursing home.

Three days after being shot with an electronic stun gun in a confrontation that shocked Australians and garnered international attention, the woman, Clare Nowland, is still in critical condition in the hospital.

After being informed by nursing home staff that a woman was "armed with a knife," officers were summoned to Yallambee Lodge in southern New South Wales on Wednesday, according to the police.

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Before moving towards them "at a slow pace" with a walking frame and firing his taser at her, police claim they begged Nowland to drop the serrated steak knife.

Upon being questioned about political demands for the release of police body-worn video of the tasering, Karen Webb, the police commissioner of New South Wales, responded, "I am not sure why they want to see it."

"I don't see it necessary that I actually view it," the state police chief said at a press conference, adding that she had only heard the audio from the recording.
Webb continued: "We don't intend to release it unless there is a process at the end of this that would allow it to be released." Webb cited "legislative requirements" surrounding surveillance devices.

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The investigation into the use of the taser "will take time," she said. Webb promised that the investigation would adhere to "proper process."

The prognosis for Nowland, who has 24 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren, is unclear, according to Webb, who visited Nowland's family on Friday at the hospital.

The police chief said, "The next few days will be critical and, you know, it's likely to be very difficult for the family. At the moment, my condolences and thoughts are with the family. The family wants answers.

According to her, police would "deal with the facts and not speculate" in order to prevent tainting their inquiry.
Webb said police calls to nursing homes were "quite rare" and that they might need to be "better equipped" to handle patients with dementia.

Police were ordered to release the body-worn video images, according to Green Party state senator David Shoebridge.

"Shock and disbelief are my reactions, as they are for the millions of Australians who have heard this news. How can tasering a 95-year-old dementia patient in a nursing home be considered a reasonable use of force by police?

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Shoebridge claimed that he was joining other New South Wales coworkers in making a "very clear demand" that the government and state police obtain the family's permission before releasing the bodycam footage.
"The public have a right to know what the police did, and this cannot be hidden in a police-investigating-police private inquiry," he declared.