The officer, suspended with pay, will face court on July 5.
Sydney, Australia:
An Australian policeman was charged with three counts of assault on Wednesday for groping a 95-year-old great-grandmother with dementia inside her nursing home.
The 33-year-old senior constable was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault causing actual bodily harm and common assault, New South Wales state police said in a statement.
The officer, suspended with pay, will face court on July 5.
“Investigation into the serious incident is underway,” police said.
The woman, Claire Nowland, is in a serious condition in hospital after being shot by an electronic stun gun on May 17 in a confrontation that shocked Australians and made international headlines.
Officers were called to Yallambee Lodge Nursing Home in southern New South Wales by staff who told them a woman was “armed with a knife”.
Police say he urged Nowland to drop a serrated steak knife before moving toward them “slowly” with his walking frame, prompting an officer to fire his Taser at him.
Some politicians are calling for a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry and the release of police bodycam video of the confrontation.
State Greens MP Sue Higginson said this week: “Ms Nowland’s molestation has sparked a community outcry, which shows how desperately we need police reform.”
“Refusing to release bodycam footage shields NSW Police from public scrutiny for all the wrong reasons – the NSW community deserves to know what really happened during Claire Nowland’s teaser so we can begin to take the necessary steps to change Can do.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)