Kristian White: Police officer who tasered 95-year-old Clare Nowland found guilty of manslaughter
The police officer who tasered 95-year-old great-grandmother Clare Nowland in a south coast nursing home has been found guilty of manslaughter in the NSW Supreme Court.
Senior Constable Kristian White, 34, used his taser to subdue Clare Nowland after staff called police to the Yallambee Lodge, Cooma on May 17, 2023.
Mrs Nowland had been threatening staff and residents of the nursing home with a steak knife while she moved around the facility and the police responded to a triple-0 call for help.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.In video footage played during the trial, White was heard saying “nah, bugger it” before shooting the great-grandmother in the torso with the taser.
The jury handed down its verdict at the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney, finding White guilty of the single charge of manslaughter after deliberating for 20 hours.
Mrs Nowland who had dementia fell to the ground and hit her head before dying of an inoperable brain bleed in hospital.
Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC successfully argued White was criminally negligent or conducted an unlawful and dangerous act by firing the Taser in a move which was “utterly unnecessary”.
In reaching its verdict, the jury rejected arguments by defence counsel Troy Edwards SC that the 34-year-old officer’s use of the Taser was a proportionate response to the threat that Mrs Nowland posed.
With AAP.
