Kristian James Samuel White, a former police officer, was found guilty of manslaughter after Tasering 95-year-old Clare Nowland at a nursing home. The incident, which occurred in May 2023, resulted in Nowland's death a week later from a fractured skull. White's sentencing hearing is scheduled for today, with prosecutors advocating for a prison sentence. The case has sparked debate about the appropriate use of Tasers in situations involving elderly individuals.
Kristian James Samuel White was found guilty of manslaughter after Taser ing 95-year-old Clare Nowland at Yallambee Lodge aged-care home in the southern NSW town of Cooma, in the early hours of May 17, 2023. He will face a sentence hearing in the NSW Supreme Court today, during which prosecutors are expected to argue he should serve time behind bars. The jury was shown CCTV footage of police officers and Nowland before she was Taser ed.
White's barrister has already argued a jail sentence was not inevitable for the nature of his offending. At the time of the incident, Nowland was holding a knife and was uncompliant with requests from staff, a court was told during a trial in November. After being Tasered by White, she fell to the ground and fractured her skull, dying in hospital a week later. Despite White arguing he felt the great-grandmother posed a threat at the time, a jury unanimously found him guilty of manslaughter. He was sacked from the force almost a week after the verdict, but has since launched legal proceedings challenging that decision. Supreme Court judge Ian Harrison refused a motion in December for White to be taken into custody, finding it possible he ultimately will not see the inside of a jail cell. Harrison noted at the time he did not want to 'cause distress or frustration' to those who see nothing other than a sentence of full-time imprisonment appropriate for White. 'I should not want to give unwarranted hope to Mr White that he will avoid a sentence of full-time imprisonment,' he said at the time. 'I am simply not comfortable making ... a decision as a bail authority with respect to Mr White based on a conclusion that he will be sentenced to imprisonment to be served by full-time detention.' Nowland's family said at the time they were struggling to come to terms with the decision to allow White's bail to continue despite his conviction. Police and paramedics were called to Nowland's nursing home after the great-grandmother grabbed two steak knives from a kitchen and raised them against residents and staff before throwing one at a carer. White pulled the Taser's trigger after three minutes of negotiations to get her to put down the remaining knife. He was heard in video footage played at his trial saying 'nah, bugger it' before shooting Nowland in the torso.
MANSLAUGHTER TASER POLICE NURSING HOME ELDERLY
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