Australian police officer who tasered 95-year-old dementia patient charged with manslaughter

The 33-year-old senior constable, who was called to the nursing home after Nowland became agitated in the early hours of the morning, allegedly warned her to stop before saying “nah b****r it” and firing the taser.

Nowland reportedly weighed 43kg (95 pounds) at the time, and police would later describe her as “frail”.

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Police had previously charged the officer with various counts of assault, but added the more serious manslaughter charge on Wednesday after speaking with prosecutors.

Officers had been called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home in southern New South Wales by staff who told them that a woman was “armed with a knife”.

Nowland – who had 24 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren – fractured her skull after falling to the ground, dying in hospital one week later.