The son of a 92-year-old man who was allegedly assaulted by police during an arrest said his father was “disabled for about a month” after the alleged incident.
Two New South Wales police officers were called to the home of Patricia, 90, and Ronald Hodge, 92, in Picton, south-west Sydney, about 8.45pm on January 21 for a domestic violence incident.
Hodge was arrested but during the confrontation with officers he suffered a fractured elbow and significant bruising to his head and arms.
Hodge’s son Bruce Hodge, who works as a surgeon in Port Macquarie, said his mother has since been moved to a dementia ward at a nursing home, and his father is now home alone.
“The most important thing now is separation and confusion,” he told ABCadding that his parents have been married for 70 years.
“It’s very unfortunate because it has affected the relationship he now has with my mother.”
Two New South Wales Police officers were called to the home of Patricia, 90, and Ronald Hodge, 92 (pictured), in Picton, south-west of Sydney, at around 8.45pm on Jan. 21 for a domestic violence incident.
Hodge developed dementia about two years ago, but his condition had worsened in recent months.
Hodge said his father was confused about what had happened and who was to blame after the incident.
Mrs Hodge suffers from paranoia and called the police a year ago about a similar incident.
But his son said the officers who arrived then had “responded very well.”
She said her mother had a pair of scissors and was acting somewhat aggressively towards the officers, who managed to calmly take them away from her and requested an ambulance to take her to the hospital.
The night Hodge was allegedly assaulted, his wife called their son after calling the police.
Bruce said he tried to tell officers that his mother had dementia, but was unable to contact them before his father was arrested.
His father was hospitalized after the arrest, which Bruce said essentially left him “handicapped” for about a month.
Hodge was arrested, but during the confrontation with officers he suffered a broken elbow and significant bruising to his head and arms.
He said he did not believe the action taken by the officers was “appropriate.”
Following an internal investigation, a senior police officer and a constable, both attached to the South West Metropolitan Region, were charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and handed attendance notices to the court.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said at a news conference last week that she was “disappointed” by the alleged assault.
“Police respond to many domestic violence calls and often enter situations without knowing what they are getting into,” he said.
The police chief was asked if older people could feel safe asking for police help.
‘We respond to thousands and thousands of calls every week, every year, in New South Wales. And most of the time, we get it right, almost all the time,” he stated.
‘We respond to victims in a very empathetic and caring way.
“But if as an executive, as leadership, we are concerned that officers may not have responded appropriately, then we will investigate.”
Commissioner Webb said the elderly man received support from NSW Police after the incident and that officers had been in contact with his family.
He added that the officers involved were “experienced” but not “veterans.”
One of the officers will appear at Campbelltown Local Court on July 30.
The other must appear before the same court on August 6.
Both officers were suspended with pay and restricted to their duties at the station after the internal investigation was launched on January 22.