Clare's story
One must wonder why ....23 total reviews
Comment from Faith Williams
Oh, Wendy, this is a horrible incident, and I have so many questions. If she lived in a facility, why were the police there in the first place? Shouldn't the staff have training regarding such incidents, especially in regard to patients with dementia? How did she get the knife?
We have issues in the long-term care facilities in the US as well. Part of it stems from staffing issues such as lack of staff and high turnover rates.
Thanks for sharing.
reply by the author on 28-May-2023
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Oh, Wendy, this is a horrible incident, and I have so many questions. If she lived in a facility, why were the police there in the first place? Shouldn't the staff have training regarding such incidents, especially in regard to patients with dementia? How did she get the knife?
We have issues in the long-term care facilities in the US as well. Part of it stems from staffing issues such as lack of staff and high turnover rates.
Thanks for sharing.
Comment Written 28-May-2023
reply by the author on 28-May-2023
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Thank you very much Faith. It happened at 4:30 am so I assume there was only one overnight staff person who must have panicked and called the police. Clare just wandered into the kitchen and picked up the knife. A lot of dementia patients wander at night. It was a massive over reaction, and I am sure she could have been easily "disarmed" by gentle talk and distraction. No one even knows that she meant to do harm - that would have been quite out of character for her. Who knows if she was just thinking about having steak for dinner and needing a sharper knife than what was provided? We?ll never know. But she obviously wasn?t a threat at her slow speed. Why not just slip behind her and gently take her wrist and force her to lose her grip on the knife? So very sad! Thank you for your compassionate review.
Wendy
Comment from patcelaw
This truly is a very sad story. I live with my daughter and her husband. I will soon be 85 years of age and they have a shirred me that should I get to the point where I have to be cared for they will try their very best care for me in my home with cameras all around to make sure I am not miss treated in the in the home. That is reassuring to me however, I do not show evidence of having dementia or Alzheimer's at this point. Patricia.
reply by the author on 26-May-2023
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This truly is a very sad story. I live with my daughter and her husband. I will soon be 85 years of age and they have a shirred me that should I get to the point where I have to be cared for they will try their very best care for me in my home with cameras all around to make sure I am not miss treated in the in the home. That is reassuring to me however, I do not show evidence of having dementia or Alzheimer's at this point. Patricia.
Comment Written 26-May-2023
reply by the author on 26-May-2023
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Thank you for a nice review, Patricia. Your daughter and son-in-law sound like very caring people. It is good that they are reassuring you to as to their ongoing care and vigilance for your safety. Good too that you have no signs of dementia, an awful disease. I am sure that writing and reviewing are good ways to keep the brain strong.
Best wishes.
Wendy
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Sometimes, when I am reviewing some of the words come out, kind of funny because of the fact that I speak my reviews into my iPad, and I don?t always catch the errors that I have committed.
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I am sure people understand..
Comment from Goodadvicechan
This is a tragic incident. You asked all the right questions but unfortunately, there are no answers in this country. It seems things are getting worse than better. We need to provide more training to police officers.
Thanks for sharing this piece,
reply by the author on 26-May-2023
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This is a tragic incident. You asked all the right questions but unfortunately, there are no answers in this country. It seems things are getting worse than better. We need to provide more training to police officers.
Thanks for sharing this piece,
Comment Written 25-May-2023
reply by the author on 26-May-2023
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Thank you for a most understanding review. There are many effective strategies for dealing with such incidents, and aggressive confrontation is the worst possible technique for those with dementia or other mental illnesses. And she really can?t have been much of a threat! Thanks so much.
Wendy
Comment from WalkerMan
Your post is a clear account of how a ninety-five-year-old woman, walking slowly with aid of a four-legged frame that had to be lifted and moved forward before each step, was considered a dangerous threat because she had a serrated steak knife in her hand at 4:30 in the morning outside the Aged Care facility coping with her intermittent dementia. There was no information available about how and where she found the knife, why she took it outside, or why she didn't hand it to the two responding police officers, one of whom unnecessarily tased her, causing the fall that led to her demise a week later. Since then, it has been revealed that the officer involved had a record of use of excessive force in other cases.
As Helen (lyenochka) mentioned in her review, such cases are more frequent here in the United states than in Australia; but, most readers would agree that even one is too many -- especially when the "weapon" could have been taken from a frail individual limited by a walker device. Because she is gone, we'll never know where she found the knife, considered it a threat, so took it outside to get rid of it before someone might be hurt by it. That would fit her record of helping others.
Certainly, every person in care facilities and all police officers should be better trained to prevent such unnecessary tragedies. Whether the officer in this case ought to be punished will be decided by trial, and the world will be watching. If justice is done and improvements are made, both in Australia and elsewhere, then Clare's loss will not be in vain. May she rest in peace.
Superbly written, fairly presented, and aptly illustrated.
reply by the author on 26-May-2023
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Your post is a clear account of how a ninety-five-year-old woman, walking slowly with aid of a four-legged frame that had to be lifted and moved forward before each step, was considered a dangerous threat because she had a serrated steak knife in her hand at 4:30 in the morning outside the Aged Care facility coping with her intermittent dementia. There was no information available about how and where she found the knife, why she took it outside, or why she didn't hand it to the two responding police officers, one of whom unnecessarily tased her, causing the fall that led to her demise a week later. Since then, it has been revealed that the officer involved had a record of use of excessive force in other cases.
As Helen (lyenochka) mentioned in her review, such cases are more frequent here in the United states than in Australia; but, most readers would agree that even one is too many -- especially when the "weapon" could have been taken from a frail individual limited by a walker device. Because she is gone, we'll never know where she found the knife, considered it a threat, so took it outside to get rid of it before someone might be hurt by it. That would fit her record of helping others.
Certainly, every person in care facilities and all police officers should be better trained to prevent such unnecessary tragedies. Whether the officer in this case ought to be punished will be decided by trial, and the world will be watching. If justice is done and improvements are made, both in Australia and elsewhere, then Clare's loss will not be in vain. May she rest in peace.
Superbly written, fairly presented, and aptly illustrated.
Comment Written 25-May-2023
reply by the author on 26-May-2023
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful review about this sad story. There are many effective and safe strategies for dealing with such situations, and aggressive confrontation is not the answer; it usually makes things worse. Hopefully some good may come from a greater awareness of systemic weaknesses. Thank you so much for the six stars. I greatly value your validation of my writing.
Wendy
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You are most welcome, Wendy. What happened to Clare makes no sense to me. She could not possibly move fast enough to harm anyone agile enough to just step aside. There was no excuse for using a taser. If she had not been tased, she might eventually said why she was outside with the knife. Now we'll never know.
I commend you for your post, as it was unbiased and included all the relevant issues. You earned the sixth star for accurate thoroughness. :)) -- Mike
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I believe she was still inside the aged care facility, and just on one of her night wanders as many elderly people with dementia tend to do. And she seems to have just picked it up from the kitchen. Maybe in her confused mind she was just going into the dining area and was getting her cutlery. ? we?ll never know. But it seems unlikely she meant to harm anyone. Or could do so even if she meant to! Thank you again. Wendy
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Thank you for the additional information, Wendy. That is all the more reason for the situation to have been handled differently, preferably much more gently. Your post is a public service. -- Mike
Comment from Spitfire
I'm beginning to think police officers have mental health issues. But I also wonder how an old lady with dementia issues got ahold of a serrated kitchen knife. Your suggestions for staff and police training are excellent. You need to send this to the local newspaper for their column Letters to the Editor.
reply by the author on 26-May-2023
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I'm beginning to think police officers have mental health issues. But I also wonder how an old lady with dementia issues got ahold of a serrated kitchen knife. Your suggestions for staff and police training are excellent. You need to send this to the local newspaper for their column Letters to the Editor.
Comment Written 25-May-2023
reply by the author on 26-May-2023
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful review. She just wandered into the kitchen area and picked it up. If was a steak knife. The kitchen area should perhaps be closed and locked during the night. This particular police officer had already been disciplined for using unnecessary brutal force in a previous incident. Police need training with effective strategies for managing such incidents.
Thanks again.
Wendy
Comment from Anne Johnston
I saw this story on Yahoo this morning, and like you, I had a lot of questions as to why the situation was not handled differently. Surely she was no real threat to them.
reply by the author on 25-May-2023
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I saw this story on Yahoo this morning, and like you, I had a lot of questions as to why the situation was not handled differently. Surely she was no real threat to them.
Comment Written 25-May-2023
reply by the author on 25-May-2023
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I?m sure she wasn?t. A sad, tragic and unnecessary loss of life. Thank you very much for reviewing.
Wendy
Comment from T B Botts
Hello Wendy,
What a tragic outcome to a tragic story. It was certainly an over reaction for the policeman to use a taser on an old lady in a walker. I know that some people with dementia become abusive and can hurt their health care assistants, but it sounds like that wasn't the case here. One has to wonder how it is that she was able to access a knife to begin with. No doubt there is an abundance of blame to go around. Thanks for sharing.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
reply by the author on 25-May-2023
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Hello Wendy,
What a tragic outcome to a tragic story. It was certainly an over reaction for the policeman to use a taser on an old lady in a walker. I know that some people with dementia become abusive and can hurt their health care assistants, but it sounds like that wasn't the case here. One has to wonder how it is that she was able to access a knife to begin with. No doubt there is an abundance of blame to go around. Thanks for sharing.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment Written 25-May-2023
reply by the author on 25-May-2023
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Thank you Tom. Apparently she just wandered into the kitchen and took it from there. A lot of questions being asked. Hopefully people will be encouraged to try alternative strategies before being too heavy handed.
Wendy
Comment from LisaMay
Your story is heartbreaking. Outrage broke out that this happened to such a lovely woman. What a terrible way for her family to have to say goodbye in such a manner at the end of a wonderful life. It is big news here in NZ, and other stories of abuse of power have been revealed, especially towards mentally unstable people.
As an aside, my own father suffered from Alzheimers and spent the last couple of years in a care facility. After a lifetime of being a kind, gentle man, he got a nun in a headlock one day. That policeman probably would've tasered him, but staff rang me and I scooted on over there and we were able to talk him into letting go of the nun. He didn't have a clue who I was anymore, but just being kind and bribing him with a treat worked.
reply by the author on 25-May-2023
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Your story is heartbreaking. Outrage broke out that this happened to such a lovely woman. What a terrible way for her family to have to say goodbye in such a manner at the end of a wonderful life. It is big news here in NZ, and other stories of abuse of power have been revealed, especially towards mentally unstable people.
As an aside, my own father suffered from Alzheimers and spent the last couple of years in a care facility. After a lifetime of being a kind, gentle man, he got a nun in a headlock one day. That policeman probably would've tasered him, but staff rang me and I scooted on over there and we were able to talk him into letting go of the nun. He didn't have a clue who I was anymore, but just being kind and bribing him with a treat worked.
Comment Written 25-May-2023
reply by the author on 25-May-2023
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I am glad for you and your father that a sensible and caring strategy was found. One wonders why something similar couldn?t have been done here. Thank you for a compassionate review of this tragic and unnecessary situation.
Wendy
Comment from lyenochka
I agree with your outrage, Wendy. As sad as your story is, we have so many more such stories again and again every single day here. Not only do we have madmen killing people with guns. The knee jerk reaction of police, security guards, and even helpful citizens is to kill the person who is disturbing the peace. I hope Australia figures out a way to train police better.
reply by the author on 25-May-2023
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I agree with your outrage, Wendy. As sad as your story is, we have so many more such stories again and again every single day here. Not only do we have madmen killing people with guns. The knee jerk reaction of police, security guards, and even helpful citizens is to kill the person who is disturbing the peace. I hope Australia figures out a way to train police better.
Comment Written 25-May-2023
reply by the author on 25-May-2023
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What a terrible way to live. We have the occasional abuse of police power but it makes headlines because it is so rare. Where has common sense gone? I hope we don?t go down the same path. Thank you for an understanding review. In Australia most people don?t carry guns. So helpful citizens can?t intervene. One time a guy went crazy with a knife and a group of citizens chased him with chairs from a cafe and caught him and pinned him down with his hand with the knife under a milk crate until police arrived. (There are some gangland wars in big cities, but they usually attack each other.)
Wendy
Comment from royowen
Yes, we heard about this incident, you'd think the police would be able to gauge the danger of her, or anyone, being able to harm others, the police officer concerned may have changed his/her life irrevocably too. Beautifully written, blessings Roy
reply by the author on 25-May-2023
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Yes, we heard about this incident, you'd think the police would be able to gauge the danger of her, or anyone, being able to harm others, the police officer concerned may have changed his/her life irrevocably too. Beautifully written, blessings Roy
Comment Written 25-May-2023
reply by the author on 25-May-2023
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One would think so. Sad and unnecessary, it would seem. Thanks so much for reviewing.
Wendy
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Well done