A woman has been blinded in one eye after being shot by police with a stun gun outside her home.

Sheila Oakley, 29, underwent surgery to remove the gun’s metal prong from her eye following the incident at her home in Logan, south of Brisbane, on Thursday, but doctors were unable to save her sight.

The woman’s sister said she became upset during a visit from social workers, prompting an ambulance and police to arrive. Police have said the stun gun was used on the woman because she was armed with a table leg with nails sticking out of it and in an aggressive state.



“She was screaming in total agony,” the sister, who was not named, told ABC radio. “The Taser was in her eye and she was in so much pain she said to the police officer ‘the Taser’s in my eye, the Taser’s in my eye’, screaming all the while.”



The sister said the officer responsible, whom police said is a qualified Taser instructor, tried to make amends.

“The police officer came to the ambulance to speak to [my sister] and said ‘I know you probably don’t want to speak to me right now but I am sorry’,” she said.

A neighbour who witnessed the incident, but did not want to be named, said the officer who shot the woman with the stun gun arrived in a second police car. He said things appeared calm before the second car arrived, and he believed the original police who went to the home were preparing to leave. But things changed when the second vehicle arrived, and the woman was shot.

“She was about five to seven metres away from them, I doubt a Tasering was necessary,” he said.

The Ethical Standards Command is investigating the incident. Police say they are also weighing possible charges against the woman.

Police service guidelines on stun gun use specifically warn of the risk of eye injuries.

“Tasers should not be aimed so as to strike the head or neck of a subject unless this is unavoidable,” the guidelines say.

Acting assistant commissioner Steve Hollands said the officer who deployed the stun gun is a very experienced senior constable.

“He’s also a qualified Taser instructor,” he told the ABC.

“The Ethical Standards Command and the Criminal Investigation Commission will overview the matter. At this point in time, the woman remains in hospital.”

Police will hold a press conference about the incident later in the day.

Aboriginal activist Sam Watson has called on police to hand in their stun guns until the matter has been investigated.

“The Queensland Police Service just cannot be trusted with these Taser weapons,” he told the ABC. “They are very dangerous. They can cause permanent damage, as we’ve seen.”