Judge refuses to send police officer who tasered Clare Nowland into custody ahead of sentencing

A judge has refused to send the police officer found guilty of manslaughter over 95-year-old Clare Nowland’s death to jail ahead of his sentencing.

On Friday (29 November), Judge Ian Harrison refused the prosecution’s application to detain Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White ahead of his sentencing and continued his bail until further order of the court.

Earlier, after the judge had asked about what conditions the 34-year-old could expect to face if he were remanded in custody, a detective sergeant provided a statement for the court.

He said White would be classified as “protection non-association”, which meant he would not be in the physical presence of other inmates at any time.

The detective sergeant said a submission would be made for him to be taken to a complex for former and current police staff, which would take about a week.

He also said that, depending on White’s non-association levels, he may be able to associate with other inmates in that complex who are also in similar circumstances.

During his consideration, Justice Harrison noted how it would take a week to take him to the complex.

He said this case was unlike any other he had to confront.

“For example, Ms Nowland’s death resulted from what was on almost any view a failure by Mr White to correctly assess the seriousness of the threat confronting him, or on another view, a failure to recognise or appreciate that he was not confronted with a serious threat at all,” he said.

“It was no more and no less than an error of judgement with fatal consequences.

“Mr White made a significant mistake in the course of his work.”

However, he warned White that he did not want to give him “unwarranted hope” that he will avoid a sentence of full-time imprisonment.

“I am simply not comfortable making, and I am not prepared at this stage to make, 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’ when that decision can at present only rest on materials that are not only unlikely to be complete but are certain to be incomplete,” he said.

White’s bail conditions are that he not travel overseas, be of good behaviour and not contact Ms Nowland’s family.

The sentencing hearing was scheduled for 7 February 2025.

On 17 May 2023, Ms Nowland was holding a steak knife in a small office room at Yallambee Lodge in Cooma, NSW, while she used her mobility frame to slowly walk towards police officers, paramedics and staff standing in the corridor outside the room.

She did not drop the knife or stop moving when the officers repeatedly told her to, then was tasered by White while he stood about two metres away from her outside the room’s doorway.

She fell over, hit her head on the ground and died from her injuries seven days later.

White pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in his NSW Supreme Court trial that closed earlier this month, and jurors returned to the courtroom a week later to announce they found him guilty.

On Thursday (28 November), White’s barrister, Troy Edwards SC, argued against his client being remanded in custody, saying the judge had significant scope to determine the basis of liability.

Prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC said the jury had found that, on any view, the force used in the incident was not reasonably necessary.

Meanwhile, also on Thursday, NSW Police issued a statement saying that due to the jury’s verdict, White had been suspended from the police force without pay.

“Regarding the officer’s position in the NSW Police Force, the NSW Police Commissioner is following the procedure mandated under the Police Act 1990, s 181D,” a police spokesperson said.

Original Article published by Albert McKnight on Riotact.