The behavior of NSW police officers will once again come under scrutiny after it was revealed that two constables had assaulted a 92-year-old individual with dementia.
The incident occurred in May 2023, when an officer tasered a woman while she was in a nursing home.
The police force launched an investigation after one of the officers, who was also a constable, admitted to giving a fake test to the son of an authority figure.
Karen Webb, the commissioner of NSW Police, expressed her regret about the incident during a press briefing.
When police responded to a call about an elderly person at Picton in Sydney’s southwest, they arrested a 92-year-old man after determining that he was a suspect in a domestic violence incident.
According to Webb, the man might have dementia.
He was then taken to a hospital after suffering from an injury during his arrest.
The incident highlighted the complicated situation involving people with cognitive impairments, such as dementia.
It also highlighted the need for proper training for law enforcers on how to deal with these types of individuals.
The man was then sent to the hospital with a fractured elbow and bruising to his arms and head.
An internal investigation revealed that a senior constable and a constable assaulted the 92-year-old man.
The two officers were then charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.
The constable will face additional charges in the Campbelltown Local Court.
When asked about the use of bodycams by the officers, Webb noted that she had seen the footage, but she refused to comment on its content.
She said that she was not interested in prejudicing the court case of the two constables.
It’s up to the court whether the police officers used excessive force.
The incident occurred as the law enforcers responded to calls about individuals who were mentally ill or elderly.
Since then, several people have died after they were tasered by the police.
One of these deaths was that of Clare Nowland, who was 95 years old when she was tasered by the police in Cooma in 2023.