Police Not Guilty of assault of elderly care home resident

[Nanny0gg]

The police that tasered the 92 year-old amputee in the nursing home have been found not guilty of assault!

What on earth? What does constitute assault then?

I'm appalled by this judgement

I agree with posters saying that under the residents condition, I find it difficult to believe they couldn’t have dealt with the situation without both the taser and pepper spray but also without police involvement. I’m a student nurse, in my nursing home placement of 6 weeks I was assaulted quite badly 4 times, punched, bitten and stabbed in the side of the face with a fork whilst sitting next to the resident at the dining table, spoon feeding another resident sat next to them, however each of these times were totally unexpected and out of the blue so caught me off guard, no fuss was made.

Anytime that a resident was actively kicking off it was dealt with pretty quickly and effectively by the care home staff and some of these patients were larger males who had ok mobility, I just can’t see how this man was so much of a threat that they needed to use this much force on him, it’s really sad.

That was clear during COVID.

"The thing to remember is that if the person had just complied with the police they wouldn't have tasered them. "

So it would be a young child's fault if they got tasered because they didn't comply with police shouting at them?

I’ve seen patients rip fire extinguishers from walls and throw them at staff

"I’ve seen patients rip fire extinguishers from walls and throw them at staff"

That wasn't happening here.

Many moons ago, I worked at a dementia nursing home. There would be occasional incidents and the tactic was for one of us to distract the patient whilst the RGN snuck some kind of benzo injection into them. I have no idea if this is the done thing these days (or even if it was the correct procedure in the first place) but the resident would soon be out of distress.
That's dementia for you though. You could be putting a resident to bed while she announces that you are a hateful bitch who deserves prison then taking their breakfast up in the morning to find she's dressed herself and is standing at the window saying how beautiful the bluebells are today.

People with dementia do not mean to be violent, they are incapacitated, scared and do not understand what is happening to them, their minds are ‘demented’, people need to be more understanding of this.

No it’s not pleasant to be assaulted at work trying to help people, it can be scary and very mentally challenging, but people who don't understand this awful disease and have the wrong attitude towards it, probably shouldn’t be working in this type of job.

I saw the video, he was sat in a chair not moving holding the knife. He was not thrashing and waving it around.

I don't understand why they felt the need to taser and pepper spray the man.

He had dementia. One of the effects is the patient can't imagine the consequences of doing/not doing something. It's not just memory loss. That comment is a bit like saying it's an amputees own fault if they can't run for a bus.

This thread just illustrates the woeful knowledge of dementia in the general public. But I shouldn't be surprised because a nurse on an elder care ward was surprised that my mum, who has alzheimer's, got confused by information and couldn't remember it. Think about that - a nurse on an elder care ward without even the most basic understanding of one of the most common conditions in the elderly. I bet she'd have called the police.

Let’s hope you never get old or in any way disabled and impaired and “disobedient “.

And if that were the case here, their actions would’ve been justified. It wasn’t, and your comment is about as relevant as me saying some police officers are murderers.

Although he was in a dementia care home he Didn't have Dementia He had a treatable UTI

Another thing to remember is that even in situations where someone isn't immediately complying, well-trained and conscientious police officers have more options available to them than just ever-escalating amounts of violence.

Which gives hideous symptoms of confusion. When my dad had delirium he was convinced the government were out to force him to leave home, that the man in the opposite bed was really a bear, that the nurses had bird's feet and that the ward was a foot deep in water. How do you think he would have reacted if the police had turned up and started shouting at him?

You can’t understand because it doesn’t make sense, there was absolutely no need for that reaction from the police, it’s disgraceful.

Other options beyond shouting and tazering someone exist.

We’ve come across a nurse on a mental health inpatient unit, who commented to a colleague that one of the patients was acting like a baby! (Having a meltdown) Complete lack of empathy for a patient, who wouldn’t be there if they were acting completely rationally….

Some children in special needs schools can be extremely violent and attack staff, would it be ok to taser them too? No, it absolutely wouldn’t.

The old man was confused and disoriented

Agree. Fucking animals.

By a wheelchair bound amputee?

I was merely demonstrating the unpredictability of patients.

The video is really upsetting. If you can’t manage a 92yo wheelchair-bound amputee with a blunt knife without violence, another career might be a good idea.

Yes you’re right, always a certain type, remind me of 90s PE teachers actually. Barking orders, little bit of power goes to their head.