First responders had options: Clare Nowland Coronial Inquest
Clare Nowland inquest puts dementia response under spotlight
- Inquest complete: Hearings into Clare Nowland’s death have wrapped up
- Fatal encounter: 95-year-old died after police used a Taser in aged care
- Safer options: Experts argued de-escalation alternatives were available
- Sector lessons: Dementia training and crisis response protocols questioned
A Coronial Inquest into the death of Clare Nowland, who died aged 95 after being Tasered by a police officer, concluded on Friday, 15 May.
Clare, a resident of Yallambee Lodge aged care facility in Cooma, southern NSW, fell and suffered a brain injury in May 2023 after being Tasered by then Police Officer Kristian White. She died in hospital a week later.
White was found guilty of manslaughter in November 2024, and was handed a two-year community correction order in March 2025. An appeal against the sentencing on the basis it was “manifestly inadequate” was dismissed.
The Coronial Inquest into Clare's death began in Queanbeyan Court, southern NSW, last Wednesday (13 May). The aim of the inquiry was how staff in aged care facilities and first responders are trained to respond to people experiencing symptoms of dementia, particularly dementia-related aggression, with the aim of preventing a similar event from occurring again.
Paramedic Anna Hofner and police officer Jessica Pank, who both attended the aged care home with White that day, both told the court they were surprised he deployed the Taser.
Police and paramedics could have used a "pause point" to stop and discuss a plan before progressing, the paramedic said.
Geriatrician Professor Susan Kurrle said the care Clare received at Yallambee Lodge before her death was reasonable and appropriate. Attending police and paramedics could have left Clare alone to calm down, she suggested.
Geriatrician Professor Joseph Ibrahim said he would have tried to distract Clare with conversation. When counsel assisting Sophie Callan SC suggested Clare could have thrown the knife she was carrying at him, Ibrahim said, "The likelihood that she would have been able to aim it, hit a vital spot is extraordinarily remote."
State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan heard numerous alternatives were available to White and other police and paramedics attending, including contacting Clare's daughter, Lesley Lloyd, for help de-escalating the situation.
On the final day of the inquest, O'Sullivan said, "Every single person involved in this inquest has one goal: to try and prevent this from happening to any other elderly person, any other person with dementia and their family."
Though White did not appear in person in the court, he had legal representation.
The Coroner is expected to hand down her findings later this year.
