Police officer who Tasered 95-year-old woman in care home found guilty of manslaughter

27 November 2024, 07:10 | Updated: 27 November 2024, 07:23

A police officer who Tasered a 95-year-old woman with dementia symptoms who later died has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Senior constable Kristian White, 34, used his Taser on great-grandmother Clare Nowland after she was found walking around her care home in Australia with a knife in May last year.

She died in hospital a week later, prompting a public outcry.

White had argued that the knife in her hand meant she posed him a threat, but prosecutors pointed out she weighed under 50kg and used a walking frame to get around.

The incident took place after Ms Nowland left the room of her care home, Yallambee Lodge in the town of Cooma – which is about 70 miles south of Canberra – with two steak knives.

Read more: ‘She had a walking frame but she had a knife’: Police defend tasering of woman, 95, as she receives end-of-life care

Read more: Dementia patient, 95, dies in hospital after being tasered by Australian police officer who has been charged with assault

At one point she went into the room of another resident with the knives, but he told the court he had not felt threatened.

She also threw one of the knives at a member of staff at the care home.

Ms Nowland later approached an officer with the knife in hand – while also using her walking frame at the same time.

She walked very slowly, covering about a metre over the course of a minute.

White told her he had his weapon pointed at her, before saying “bugger it” and firing when she was between about 1.5 metres and 2 metres away.

White said later that he felt a “violent confrontation was imminent” and that he did not think Ms Nowland would be seriously hurt.

After Ms Nowland was tasered, she fell and hit her head, which caused the injuries that required hospital care.

She suffered from a fractured skull among other critical injuries.

Ms Nowland had not been formally diagnosed with dementia but had shown signs of cognitive decline.

Both a paramedic that treated Ms Nowland and his fellow police officer said that she had made them scared for their. safety.

But both agreed that they could have got out of the way of Ms Nowland quite easily.

Her family said after the guilty verdict that they would “take some time to come to terms with the jury’s confirmation that Clare’s death at the hands of a serving NSW police officer was a criminal and unjustified act.”

White was released on bail and will be sentenced at a later date.