NSW Police has confirmed officers will be equipped with tasers that do not include in-built cameras, following the death of 95-year-old grandmother Clare Nowland.
The current Taser X26P has been discontinued and will no longer be available, a NSW Police spokesman said.
“Because the X26P will not be available, NSWPF recently procured the Taser 7, which is in the process of being rolled out to operational police across the state,” the spokesman said.
“The manufacturers of the Taser 7 have not included a camera in the unit.”
The Taser 7 can be integrated with body-worn vision and NSW Police is working to develop a holster activation device that will ensure the officer’s body-worn camera activates when the weapon is drawn, the spokesman said.
Ms Nowland, who weighed 43 kilograms, was tasered in a confrontation with police while walking with a frame and holding a steak knife at the Yallambee Lodge in Cooma.
She fell and struck her head, later dying in Cooma Hospital with 33 year-old Senior Constable Kristian White facing criminal charges.
Exact details of the ongoing taser rollout is not publicly available, including when the decision was made to use tasers without an in-built camera, the spokesman said.
Last week NSW Police expressed condolences for Ms Nowland’s family and loved ones in confirming her death.
On Monday, independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich called the incident “unacceptable” and called for greater training in de-escalation strategies for officers.
“NSW Police must upgrade training and guidelines to increase use of de-escalation strategies and prevent the use of excessive and unnecessary force, especially for more vulnerable people,” he said in a statement.
Australian Associated Press