Clare Nowland was tasered in Cooma when she was 95 years old. Photo: Supplied.
The former police officer who tasered 95-year-old Clare Nowland, resulting in her death, avoided being sent to jail when he was sentenced.
At the end of Kristian James Samuel White’s jury trial in the NSW Supreme Court last year, he was found guilty of a charge of manslaughter.
On Friday (28 March), he faced the court again and was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order, which is a community-based sentence.
As part of this order, he must complete 425 hours of community service.
Justice Ian Harrison said the former senior constable completely and inexplicably misread and misunderstood the dynamics of the situation that night.
He said White made “a terrible mistake” and fired a taser at Ms Nowland when responding to a threat “that never called for such a response”.
“Mr White clearly made the wrong choice,” he said.
But Justice Harrison also found the crime fell towards the lower end of objective seriousness for manslaughter and did not call for a custodial sentence.
He said this was as White was called to Yallambee Lodge in Cooma on 17 May 2023 in his capacity as a police officer, and once there, he had a duty to resolve the situation that confronted him. Also, the tasering was not premeditated, and he and Ms Nowland were strangers.
Kristian James Samuel White (left) was charged over the death of Clare Nowland. Photo: Gail Eastway.
Justice Harrison said White suffered extra-curial punishment over his actions, as his job in the police force had been terminated and he had become “an unwelcome member of the Cooma community”.
The judge said a custodial sentence would be “unduly onerous” as, being a former police officer, he would have to serve it in some form of protective isolation.
Justice Harrison also said that White did not represent a risk to the community and didn’t pose a risk of reoffending.
Medical experts said he had been diagnosed with a major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In a letter to Ms Nowland’s family and the court, White said he lost his job over the incident and would likely leave the region once the court proceedings had completed.
“I felt and still feel horrible about what happened,” White said.
Ms Nowland, who suffered from symptoms consistent with dementia, was carrying two knives while going into other residents’ rooms at Yallambee Lodge in Cooma, NSW, on 17 May 2023, resulting in staff calling Triple Zero for assistance.
CCTV captured her movements around the lodge, as well as the search to find her.
She was eventually found in a small room and then held a steak knife 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.
He had the taser pointed at her for one minute before saying, “Nah, bugger it”, and firing.
She fell over, hit her head on the ground and died from her injuries seven days later.
Justice Harrison said 10 people had given victim impact statements to the court and it was beyond doubt Ms Nowland was a special and much-loved matriarch of her extended family.
During White’s sentencing hearing earlier this year, Ms Nowland’s daughter Gemma Murphy described her as “a loving mother, a caring friend and a cherished member of the community”, as well as a “beacon of love and strength”.
White was questioned on why he tasered Ms Nowland when he testified in his trial.
“I thought it was my only option at the time to ensure a safe resolution of the incident,” he said.
After the guilty verdict, Justice Harrison refused to remand White in custody ahead of his sentencing, which meant he remained on bail ahead of Friday’s sentencing.
He had been suspended from duty with pay in late May 2023 and was dismissed from the police force in December 2024, but then launched a review of this decision.
Original Article published by Albert McKnight on Riotact.
