A 95-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries one week after a police officer discharged a stun gun at her in a nursing home.

The woman, Clare Nowland, was a resident of Yallambee Lodge, a nursing home located in Cooma, Australia, and passed away on Wednesday, May 24. The fatal incident involved Constable Kristian White, a 33-year-old officer, who used a stun gun on Nowland, causing her to fall and sustain a skull fracture. Nowland, a dementia patient, had been in the hospital since the incident on May 17.

Constable White is facing court proceedings on July 5, with charges of recklessly causing serious bodily harm, assault inflicting actual bodily harm, and general assault. New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb, who announced the charges on Wednesday, said that the charges could be elevated due to Nowland’s subsequent death.

The tragic event occurred at Yallambee Lodge, a facility specializing in high-needs care, including for dementia patients, after Nowland gained access to a serrated steak knife from the kitchen. White deployed the stun gun as Nowland was moving towards him with her walker and the knife.

Nowland’s death has sparked national discourse on police use of stun guns in comparable scenarios, and the skills of aged care facility staff. Although police have authorization to use stun guns when lives are at risk, questions have emerged about the suitability of such methods with elderly people.

A coroner will establish the cause of Nowland’s death. The police contend that her injuries resulted from the fall, not the Taser. Since the incident, White has been on paid suspension and is undergoing an internal investigation.

Police are withholding body camera footage from public viewing.