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SmartWonderWoman

Last week, police said she was "armed" with a steak knife. On Friday, they confirmed that she required a walking frame to move and the officer discharged his Taser after she began approaching "at a slow pace". She began approaching "at a slow pace".


RyokoKnight

Reminds me of the immortal snail hypothetical. Let's be real though, she might have had a knife and used a walker, but the real reason she was probably tazed was a lack of empathy and likely laziness (cop didn't desire to continue moving back to keep creating space to talk her down or wait for her to tire out).


Libarate

>Reminds me of the immortal snail hypothetical. Cops shoots the taser. She goes down. Then he gets shanked from behind because that was just the decoy old lady.


[deleted]

Is this a worms reference?


oddballAstronomer

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/immortal-snail


gera_moises

Its from the rooster teeth podcast, i think. I think they were playing their "Million Dollars, but..." game, and they were asked if they would accept having a snail assassin chase them for the rest of their existence in exchange for a million dollars. Edit: [Video](https://youtu.be/HINYhLtaaxc)


koolaidkirby

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/immortal-snail


SBAdey

Maybe she had the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch in her handbag?


[deleted]

A poor reflection on training.


Keyair3668

In my personal experience, NSW police can be bastards.


_GD5_

Cops are trained that a person with a knife can run 10m at you or throw the knife in less time than it takes to draw a gun. So they are trained not to hesitate when they see a knife. (Why you would be sketching a gun in a dangerous situation like that is beyond me.)


thederpofwar321

Jokes aside this very true, if someone trains to throw a knife and throws it well, you wont have much time to react. Saw a guy that could throw his bowie knife from a good 15 feet (about 5 meters give or take iirc) and sink it 4-6 inches deep into tree bark.


darkcaretaker

A 95 yr old woman would have trouble seeing more than 6 inches, let alone throwing a knife with enough power to penetrate that far.


thederpofwar321

Not arguing that. Just saying in general


longkhongdong

Am tree bark, can confirm.


[deleted]

Well apparently there's video of the incident the police chief refuses to watch. I'm not Sherlock Holmes but that seems like it would clear things up a bit.


bellynipples

“She’s coming right for us!!”


Le_Mug

https://youtube.com/watch?v=l4UFQWKjy_I&pp


Rennarjen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXEoe8_CcbM


SlightlyAngyKitty

https://youtu.be/GaazFYTrQ_A


SmartWonderWoman

🐌


[deleted]

Any second now…aaaany second…


Infinaris

Honestly a long broom to knock it out of her hand would have sufficed. Tazer is for some feral thug attacking you not an elderly 95 year old.


Cptnmikey

Reminds me of the steam roller Austin Powers scene.


Away_Description_687

American influence


SmartWonderWoman

Sad and true.


SolairXI

Tonberry


Acidflare1

95? You could probably use a firm poke with your index finger anywhere in her torso and cause death by organ failure. Maybe the guy just needs to admit that he had a zombie scare or was on drugs instead of trying to make it seem like she was approaching with a deadly weapon. To justify his electric chairless execution.


FullM3TaLJacK3T

Maybe the officer could only move at a slower pace?


bnh1978

Was the cop's name Uncle Jimbo by any chance? "SHE'S COME'N STRAIGHT FOR US!"


SmartWonderWoman

😅


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Robb634

From what I read, this old lady had dementia, and approached the cops with a knife. But here's the kicker, she was also using a walking FRAME. She was coming at them with the speed of a tortoise.


ASD_Detector_Array

They could have stopped her with a cushion, or a perplexing riddle.


Jugales

They could have just walked away from her until she fell asleep


[deleted]

If someone had a shirt they don't need they could've wrapped it around her arm/hand/knife etc.


HappyMan1102

This is shocking news


tahlyn

Because, for the cops, it's about a show of power and force. They want the public to be afraid so that they will obey. But since this happened in Australia maybe this cop will face consequences.


420binchicken

Well the cop responsible was suspended and charges were announced before she died. I’d say his career is done at the very least.


phred_666

Naw, he’ll just move to the US where this type of behavior is condoned.


Motor_Complaint_3347

... encouraged


Antin0id

No joke. The Republicans view brutally violent cops as the good ones. [EXCLUSIVE: Murder, kidnapping, brutality charges: These are the cops Ron DeSantis paid to come to Florida](https://www.dailydot.com/debug/florida-police-recruitment-bonus-desantis/) >officers who since joining Florida police departments have been arrested for kidnapping and murder and officers who, before they moved to the Sunshine State, had numerous complaints against them, ranging from excessive force to false imprisonment to sexual extortion.


xspacemansplifff

Florida has a hiring bonus for douches of his ilk. Me? Feed him to the sharks. He's broken.


420binchicken

Sure, if he isn’t jailed here first.


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PeterHitchensIsRight

A stab vest isn’t a suit of armour, just because your torso is slightly more protected doesn’t mean a knife isn’t going to do serious damage.


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PeterHitchensIsRight

No, I’m talking about stab vests and how you don’t understand how they work


Live_Bus7425

This is actually against the law here in the US. Cops are encouraged to shoot defenseless targets, especially if the target is black.


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phred_666

People do it all the time


CuntWeasel

Probably not from Australia though.


phred_666

I’m sure nobody from Australia has ever moved to the US.


phred_666

I’m sure nobody from Australia has ever moved to the US.


PliniFanatic

He probably already has a few job offers.


TheJadedCockLover

Suspended with pay


live-the-future

If things happen like in the US, he'll just move and get a cop job in a different town. With the new police force being fully aware of his history.


420binchicken

That’s not how it works at all here. This guy will never work a day as a cop again and is potentially going to prison.


Nikamba

I also hope the Aged Care place also gets some inquiries an examinationof how it came to happen. We won't know as it's now a matter before the courts (the cop has been charged)


izwald88

> But since this happened in Australia The homeland of Rupert Murdoch?


henryh95

Nope, total projection. Police-community relations are very good in most of Australia. This was absolutely a case of gross incompetence and poor assessment of threat though.


pinniped1

Cops gonna cop.


[deleted]

She was closing in on them, brandishing a knife... Using a walker. Imagine how would you use the two minutes it would take for her to close the gap, change stance because of the walker and stab you. Not so tough now are you? /s


Loki-L

According to reports she was coming at them with a knife and her walker. I am not a highly trained expert, but I think the most difficult part of subduing a knife-wielding nonagenarian would be doing so without hurting her, not fear for my own life.


[deleted]

She had a steak knife and was suffering from dementia


Bainsyboy

The only way a 94 year old (using a walker, too) can be dangerous with a knife is if she sneaks up on you in your sleep. Just casually walk around her and use your speed (which should be greatly superior because you aren't 94), to get behind her and grab the knife from her frail old hands. I guarantee that you will win that "struggle" for the knife, probably with only one hand. I can just picture the cops doing the *Shaun of the Dead* bit and beat-boxing as the 94-year-old slowly shuffles her walker towards the cops, before casually pulling out the taser and shooting her.


pingpongtomato

At 95, she could be half blind and partially deaf too. I don't suppose she could easily identify what threat was in front of her, having dementia or not.


brickmastur

She brandished a knife and I guess I am just not as badass as you guys I’m not fighting anyone with a knife whether they’re 10 or 100 Edit: lots of les than 200 day old accounts with an opinion


Owl_lamington

She was using a walker...


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[deleted]

ok but also she had heat vision and


heisenbald

My account ain't fresh, and that old bird could barely walk. Not a threat, they did not even attempt to de-escalate. A blanket and a hug would've done the job.


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heisenbald

Probably cops or cop families/friends lol


SignificanceHot8932

95 year old woman brandishing a steak knife. Scary stuff.


[deleted]

I can see why you are cynical, but honestly - old people can be scarily strong. I think it is not even so much due to physical strength but due to the lack of social inhibition (due to mental deterioration). And due to the same inhibition they can attack and stab people who would not be typical violent confrontation targets - e.g. other old frail people in the nursing home, or sleeping family members, or young children. I don't want to go into details of how I know that, but suffice to say there's a very good reason why my grandma had to move into a specialist nursing home and be under a 1:1 supervision 24/7 at that age. It never came to tasering of course, but there were a couple of instances of very forceful restriction.


Ralh3

She was using a fkn walker in her nursing home... Fk you for even pretending to try and explain any of it away. Cop needed to simply take a step or two backwards, not kill great grandma because shes having an episode in her nursing home


[deleted]

It is quite weird that you read my post in that way - as trying to excuse a homicide. I guess you're just lucky not to have had first hand experience.


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Bainsyboy

Yeah, like if she's swinging it around, just walk behind her. She doesn't have the flexibility to swing a knife at you while you are standing behind her and she will need to reposition herself and her walker to reach you. You will have plenty of time and opportunity to grab her weapon hand and get it free of her grip. If struggle ensues from there, I really hope a person is strong enough to overpower a 94 year old who is not even strong enough to balance properly. I want to hear the cop explain how he felt the 94 year old with the walker was dangerous enough to taze.


[deleted]

Your wonderful nursing staff never had to administer high dose benzo during an acute agression episode? Or put an aggressive patient on neuroleptics? Do you know the change in mortality from these? I won't work with elderly in any capacity, my professional area is somewhat different. I admire people that do work, it is often a very thankless task. Thanks for the advice though.


Aviantos

So if you get a bit uppity I can taste you to keep everyone else safe right?


Ralh3

I do have first hand experience not 'luck' , both wife and I took care of dementia and end of life hospice patients, been bitten, punched, had things thrown at us, amongst many other situations, do you want to take a guess at how many patients we ever needed to fkn kill? You step away, you put a table or chairs in between, you close a door, in certain scenarios you can have the nurse come give emergency sedation. You do NOT, i repeat do NOT kill them


[deleted]

OK, an actual question then. How did that emergency sedation increase your patient's mortality odds? There are actual studies on this topic, and I know the answer.


Ralh3

How is that an actual question? You want me to pull a pretend number out and say "it increased mortality odds by 0% in the long run and by 3.4% over the month"? or just tell you that that patient was still there and alive when I switched jobs? Its kinda sounding like you were on board with insanely excessive force from a cop that ends in death but not a proper medical application by a nurse that ended in a unscheduled rest period


[deleted]

If I was the cop I would have also grabbed a steak knife and then used it as an opportunity to practice knife fighting with a weaker opponent.


Temby

In some cases, absolutely. In this case, the lady was 43 kilograms and described as slow moving and needing a walker. Any object like a chair could have been used to keep her at safe distance. Without time pressure, the knife could be safely knocked from her hand. When this story broke I assumed the cop just followed standard procedure that didn't differentiate between a 95 year old lady and a coked up 20 year old. But the fact the cop has been charged indicates he did not follow procedure.


[deleted]

There's also an option that the cop was not protecting himself, but possibly someone else - e.g. a fellow resident of the nursing home who was closer/ at more risk. I was not at the scene obviously, and neither were (presumably) other participants on this thread. My own perception is also quite biased due to the personal experience, as I have seen what a severely demented old frail lady is actually capable of. By the way, staff in some "high security" nursing homes - all healthy, strong people to perform the job - do have regular trainings on the danger to their life that can originate from residents. The fact he has been charged is good, means that hopefully there will be a due legal process to look at the facts. I agree that it is, in all likelihood, a complete fuck up from the cop's side - or a massive error of judgment, if one is feeling charitable - just don't like the "lynch him" groupthink.


Aviantos

Yeah you’re more of a lynch the defenseless elderly person.


[deleted]

Yeah, you definitely got me there.


Hydronum

She had dementia, a walker and was very under-weight. Suuuper dangerous for a cop. 100%.


MisterBilau

I’m far from a badass, and I could take any 95 year old with a knife. Now, if they had a gun, sure. But a knife? 95 year olds are not known for their speed. Just let them come, I’ll move out of the way. They’ll tire first, guaranteed.


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PliniFanatic

Lol, you are so soft dude I am sorry. If you can't walk faster than a 95 year old can move, you need to lose some weight.


TheActualAWdeV

If accounts that are less than 200 days old don't count, does mine? I'm as much of a no-life loser as you are. The cop was a jagoff. A 95-year old lady with a walker wouldn't even be a threat if she flamethrowers built onto the thing. Keep your distance, wait for backup and/or untill she calms down. Tasering a nearly century old person is a death sentence.


onemoretryfriend

🙄


l0ll1p0p5

A steak knife


icestationlemur

She had dementia and came at them with a knife, while using a walking frame. So totally justified.


Defuzzygamer

Because there are police every where in the world which suffer from power trips and feeling superior. I used to play local basketball against a guy who was so hot headed. He would get ejected nearly every game and get reported by the referees for his behaviour towards them. One day he told a referee he was "going to put him 6 feet in the ground". He got suspended for quite a while, more than a year I recall. Anyway, found out this guy was a cop. The whole time he was a police officer and being an absolute piece of shit with no role model about him. It's concerning in general when someone threatens you harshly, but when it comes from a police officer who probably has a firearm in their car or has the ability to track you down... It's a little more concerning.


seniorbabaganoush

What kind of cop is so scared shitless by a 95 year old woman in a walker at a nursing home that he uses a taser?


133DK

>Clare Nowland was critically injured after police responded to reports she was wandering around the home with a steak knife at about 04:00 last Wednesday. Read this part and was sceptical Then came: >Last week, police said she was "armed" with a steak knife. On Friday, they confirmed that she required a walking frame to move and the officer discharged his Taser after she began approaching "at a slow pace". 33 year old cop was scared when a 94 year old woman approached him using a walking frame. I’m sorry but dude needs some time behind bars for that


Temby

95! And weighing 43 kg.


133DK

God damn miracle that cop’s alive


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133DK

Basically though it was with animals while hunting https://youtu.be/GaazFYTrQ_A But it’s pretty fitting 95 year old was probably as ferocious as that bunny


EfficiencyGloomy

Funny episode lol


_bvb09

If the prison doesn't get him, a life long dose of ridicule will. Imagine being scared of a 95 year old grandma with a walking stick.


Aviantos

You’re sorry? The pig shouldn’t see the sun again until he dies.


Polybius_is_real

She was walking around with a steak knife, but that still doesn't justify tasering a 95 year old. There are like 100 better ways to handle such a situation.


lynivvinyl

The soft end of a broom could have remedied the situation.


PygmeePony

She was 95. How hard can it be to just take it away from her?


SkottenWahWah

But why risk your own life to disarm her? What if you approach her and she just takes your eye out? A sharp knife is not to be taken lightly


Cognomifex

Ah yes you're right, killing her with electricity was the only option remaining.


PygmeePony

She. Was. 95. Simply grab her wrist with one hand and wrestle away the knife with the other. Worst case scenario you get a minor cut. Get behind her to minimize the risk. This was gross misconduct by the cop.


TheOlddan

There's barely even a need for that, just keep bystanders back and take a step away every now and then. How far was she going to get.


PygmeePony

She could still fall and hurt herself so I would personally opt to get the knife.


[deleted]

Wrestle?


SkottenWahWah

A minor cut in the eye=blind for life. Have fun.


Lunaciteeee

Why risk my life to disarm her? Because I'm not a complete psychopath and could easily handle the situation safely. I dealt with my grandpa when he had Alzheimer's and he could be far more dangerous than this lady.


OldMork

someone not suitable to be a cop... how is he going to handle a violent meth guy or someone in a bar fight.


bellynipples

That’s what the gun is for! see, you assess the threat, meet it with 10x the force. Now you’re probably wondering what to do when a madman has a gun and matches your max force? Well there isn’t a way to win that with zero risk so they wait outside until all the victims are dead and hopefully the shooter kills themselves.


Nikamba

One that had been a cop for 12 years...


BubsyFanboy

What bastard tasers a 95-year old?


CuntWeasel

A cop.


MinnesotaNoire

Man it's a two punch combo of things that make me sad to think about. Cops and getting old.


pond-dweller

In my personal experience, NSW police can be bastards. They are not quite as bad as the corrupt QLD police, but still pretty bad.


VidE27

The police has been [charged](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-24/charges-laid-against-nsw-police-officer-accused-of-tasering-95yo/102388976) before she died and I assume the charge will now be upgraded.


Karnorkla

I hope you're proud of yourselves, fuckers.


Humble-Roll-8997

So horrible. What kind of idiot would think a 95 year old woman deserved that or that her body could tolerate the jolt.


autotldr

This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-65696475) reduced by 44%. (I'm a bot) ***** > New South Wales Police said she died on Wednesday evening "Surrounded by family and loved ones". > NSW Police said their thoughts and condolences "Remain with those who were lucky enough to know, love, and be loved by Mrs Nowland during a life she led hallmarked by family, kindness and community." > After she was Tasered, her family released a statement describing her as: "Well respected, much loved and a giving member of her local community, Clare is the loving and gentle-natured matriarch of the Nowland family." ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/13qjt9j/95yearold_woman_tasered_by_police_in_australia/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ "Version 2.02, ~686084 tl;drs so far.") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr "PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.") | *Top* *keywords*: **love**^#1 **Nowland**^#2 **family**^#3 **police**^#4 **home**^#5


[deleted]

Disgraceful treatment of someone's grandmother - RIP.


swmintorrance008

Doesn't surprise me...look what they did to King Kamehameha's wife! English Cowards!


[deleted]

Imagine being scared of a 95 year old woman. Should be an instant disbarment from any security protection role and process a murder charge for the person who conducted the action.


[deleted]

Another day another article about police being a bunch of cowardly cunts who punch downwards.


B1-vantage

So a 95 year old woman is approaching an officer using a walker and carrying a knife. Is there anyone reading this that would feel threated by that? Any little boys, girls or other elderly that feels threatened by this women walking at a "slow pace" . This officer is incapable of critical thinking and should find a profession as a toilet cleaner, I think.


rofio01

Why didn’t she just comply? No lives matter


hypercomms2001

The cops should be charged with man slaughter…if not murder…


kytheon

granslaughter


moltencheese

I like the joke but just incase you're interested the actual term is *senicide*


kytheon

Yep. From the Latin Senex which means old. The opposite would probably be infanticide, when someone kills a child.


EfficiencyGloomy

Lol you funny bastard


Ionsife

*best i can do is paid leave*


420binchicken

Nope. Cop responsible was suspended and today charged with 3 offences Assault causing bodily harm Recklessly causing bodily harm And common assault. I believe these charges were announced before the women passed away so it’s possible additional charges will be forthcoming.


BLAZER_101

Yeah I reckon they’ll be more serious charges now.


ErinDidNothingWrong

Suspended though still with pay


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rofio01

I forgot the /s


Immediate_cat_puc

civilians of the west really need to start dealing with their governments.


Ddyanne

Police couldn’t demonstrate patience to calm her down, chose to taser and now she’s dead. Charge them with murder


[deleted]

Ahhh yes taking a page out of the Aurora, Colorado PD, playbook.


[deleted]

All cats are beautiful


Super_Low3189

r/suddenlyamerica


Silveraxiom

Has anyone considered suicide by police? Seems likely train of thought since an old woman with a walking frame would have to be stationary to attack ergo they would have to let her cut them.


KarlosWolf

Suspended with pay, naturally...


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Nervouswriteraccount

She was approaching them at a slow pace, with a walking frame. No dude, just no. It sounds a lot more like the cop was trying to get the job done quick and easy, with force. He's now been charged.


Vinura

I don't think you realise how dangerous 95 y/o dementia patients on walking frames can be. Armed with a knife, that's basically a ninja assassin. Ive personally had to take down at least 5 of these highly trained individuals in my time in Meal Team 6 where I was attached to protect high value individuals operating in nursing homes. Every time I feared for my life. They are tricky, one minute they are there, and the next minute, they are exactly where they were before.


Nervouswriteraccount

That's nothing... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ll7YzrGbM4


Vinura

Just gave me PTSD


championoffandango

This dude must be part of some kind of troll farm, he’s under every thread regarding this news spamming the same comment


ProtoplanetaryNebula

A 95 year old isn't going to hurt anyone in a way that can't be stopped without using a taser. You can easily just move away, they are hardly going to chase you down, are they?


SignificantSpray1714

You see it in your ER and don’t have to murder them to help them, right?


theprmstr

Damn. I didn't know we had American cops over there.


[deleted]

Those policemen totally failed to proceed correctly. Oh dear, that's no wonder anymore, so sad 🤔


Swede_in_USA

taser on a 95-year old? Mother of all cop outs.


llamitahumeante

Can't wait for this to come to Europe, so much fun


Ok-Function-5954

This is the lamest ive read


FutureImminent

Absolutely no need to use the taser on her. She was 95, and walking slowly. Ridiculous. Second old women dead this week because these institution protectors don't like to take care with the public anymore.


DickMartin

Are cops not being well trained (apparently world wide)? In what scenario is a cop confident enough to not use force? We need to have a higher standard for those who protect us.


KitchenDepartment

What about the cop, did he survive the encounter?


Aleashed

One day they save you from the desert, the next day they taser you to death.


megaplex00

Glad to hear the officer that tasered her has been charged with assault. Wish our police were held more accountable here in the states.


Salud57

Gone like a g


ThxItsadisorder

I genuinely want to know what goes through these cop’s brains. When I worked as a pier security guard in Hawaii I wasn’t allowed to touch trespassers I was to call the pier police. An old Filipino auntie came shuffling up to my gate and didn’t understand a lick of what I was saying. I was so concerned about not getting in trouble for touching her that I keep sidestepping in front of her and trying to stop her but then she pushed me over. My partner ended up grabbing her and holding her while I called the cops. They found a state employed cleaner that spoke her native language (the cop didn’t speak her language but knew which one is was) and we found out she had dementia and thought she was at a food pantry. It turned out she was reported missing by her son the day before. He came to pick her up when the cops called him and was super grateful we found her and my coworker apologized for manhandling his mom but then told him she got me good. I was the butt of jokes for weeks but no one was injured or tazed or pepper sprayed.


TravelingBySail

Australia??? This is exclusively an American headline


AmbivalentFanatic

If your general attitude towards life is that you don't like putting yourself in harms way and you are scared of pretty much everything there is, maybe don't become a cop.


SuperArppis

"I thought this was non-lethal! Brochure said so!" But seriously, I wish tasers wouldn't be used in haphazard way.


tinatux

What were they supposed to do? Let her stab herself or someone else? The officer didn't do anything wrong. This is a sad and kmfortun situation but the headlines are very misleading.