Police Tasered a young Indigenous man hospitalised with mental health issues twice on the mistaken belief that he was armed with a pair of scissors, the Guardian can reveal.
Just one week before a Cooma police officer Tasered Clare Nowland in May, a young Indigenous man sought medical assistance from officers further north in Batemans Bay, on New South Wales’ south coast.
Police say they arranged for an ambulance to take the 29-year-old to Batemans Bay district hospital about 5.30pm. While there, waiting for hours by himself in the emergency department, the young man took an item from a tray at the hospital.
Police say they were called about 11pm with reports the man had armed himself. Officers were operating under a mistaken belief that the item was a pair of scissors, according to a police statement.
It was in fact a pair of surgical forceps, which are usually blunt.
Police allege the man lunged at them before they used OC (capsicum) spray and fired two Tasers.
A source with knowledge of the incident, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said the man was “extremely unwell” at the time and had been left alone in the hospital, making him increasingly agitated and fearful, before he grabbed the forceps and held them where he sat, in the chair.
“If you walk in this guy’s shoes, he did all the right things as he became unwell – he went to the authorities for help,” the source said. “He cooperated with ambulance and other health workers to get to an emergency department.
“You’d expect to be given extra care, to be able to feel safe, to be safe, in this situation. But instead the police charge in … so this poor guy who’s already suffering and scared and sick ends up getting Tasered and pepper sprayed – because he tried to get help.”
Police say they launched an internal investigation into the use of the Tasers, as is standard practice. The internal review, conducted by the Region Taser Review Panel, determined that the Taser was deployed in accordance with police standard operating procedures.
“No further police action is anticipated,” a spokesperson said.
Police allege the man lunged at them when they arrived and tried to speak with him. After the first Taser was deployed, the man fell.
Police then allege he “dislodged one of the Taser probes before again lunging at the officers”. Police say that is why they fired a second Taser.
“A Taser was again deployed, which subdued the man before officers placed him under arrest,” a spokesperson said. “Police secured the item from the man, which was determined to be medical forceps.”
The man was then taken to Goulburn hospital and later charged with two counts of intimidating police officers in the execution of their duty.
He has pleaded not guilty and will appear in Batemans Bay local court next month, represented by the Aboriginal Legal Service.
NSW police’s use of Tasers has come under increased scrutiny since the death of Nowland, a 95-year-old grandmother, who was Tasered in a nursing home in Cooma on 17 May.
The incident sparked calls for more independent police oversight and the release of the police body camera footage.
Nowland’s family are suing the state government for the NSW police’s actions and an officer, Kristian White, 33, has been charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault.
Police were also forced to deny suggestions of a “cover-up” after documents revealed that mentions of paramedics, a knife and a Taser were removed in the police’s first statement about the incident.
The source with knowledge of the Batemans Bay incident said it raised serious concerns about how NSW police were using force on vulnerable people.
“What happens next time a family are worried about the mental health of a teenage son or daughter?” the source said. “Do they risk taking them to the emergency department, knowing they might get similar treatment – Tasered and pepper sprayed? Or do they keep their kid at home and hope like hell they can handle the situation without medical help?”
