Overview
- Geriatric specialists, who testified Friday, said leaving the 95-year-old to calm down under quiet supervision was safer than firing a Taser.
- The three-day hearing in Queanbeyan is focused on how police, paramedics and aged-care staff handle dementia-related crises and what changes could stop repeat tragedies.
- Paramedic Anna Hofner apologised to the family and said the Taser use felt excessive, noting she expected responders to pause and plan given the resident’s limited mobility.
- Dementia Training Australia told the court only Northern Territory Police accepted a funded de‑escalation program, and experts warned firm commands can further agitate people with dementia.
- NSW Ambulance and police witnesses said responders could have used time, distance, a single communicator, room containment, or family contact, and an instructor’s view was that policy for Tasers on the elderly did not fit this case.