Mandy, you said (Echo, 17 May)]: ‘There’s not many 95-year-olds I wouldn’t be able to overpower if necessary’ and ‘to disarm a 95-year-old with a steak knife’.
Well Mandy, I picture you up against one wielding a knife. You do not want to hurt her – but, equally as much, don’t want to be stabbed by a frantic, scared, confused knife-wielder. Easy, is it?
We know ‘our aged care system is broken’ and ‘our policing methods aren’t far behind’, BUT: have a bit of compassion for the police. Yes, I know, some of their actions are reprehensible. It’s a non-win situation! They have been called – and confronted.
Prayers for Clare’s family; it must be devastating.
Training and extra staff for the police?
Here’s hoping the coroner’s inquest brings some improvement.
The sharp claws of a cat can be defeated by putting a towel over the cat first, then you pick it up. I’m sure there was a doona handy. In martial arts training, you are taught how to disarm people with knives and guns, even if they have one pressed against your back, and Police walk around in body armour as standard.
A 95 year old, even one with a knife, does not constitute a relevant threat to anyone but themselves.