<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>334136</docID> <postdate>2024-11-27 14:15:11</postdate> <headline>Cop who tasered 95yo faces jail after guilty verdict</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-334137" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20241126144415235609-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>Kristian White has been found guilty of manslaughter. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Miklos Bolza</strong> in Sydney</span></p> <p><strong>A police officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old with dementia symptoms might have walked out of court for the last time after a jury found him guilty of her unlawful killing.</strong></p> <p>Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White fatally discharged his stun gun at Clare Nowland in a treatment room at Yallambee Lodge aged-care home in the southern NSW town of Cooma during the early hours of May 17, 2023.</p> <p>Gasps were heard and Mrs Nowland's family exchanged hugs at the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday as the 34-year-old officer was found guilty of manslaughter.</p> <p>He did not say anything but closed his eyes and bowed his head as the jury foreperson delivered the verdict.</p> <p>In video footage played at his NSW Supreme Court trial, White was heard saying "nah, bugger it" before shooting the great-grandmother in the torso.</p> <p>Mrs Nowland, who was holding a steak knife at the time, fell backwards and hit her head before dying a week later in hospital.</p> <p>The jury had deliberated for 20 hours before delivering its verdict.</p> <p>During the trial, 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 that was "utterly unnecessary".</p> <p>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 Mrs Nowland posed.</p> <p>On Wednesday, Mr Hatfield applied to have White taken into custody.</p> <p>Mr Edwards opposed the move, saying a full-time jail sentence for his client was not inevitable.</p> <p>Manslaughter carries a maximum 25-year jail term.</p> <p>Justice Ian Harrison will hear the detention application on Thursday.</p> <p>"So that there's no secret about it, I will not commit a policeman to custody until I understand the conditions under which he will be held, if he is to be held," the judge said.</p> <p>White did not say anything to reporters as he walked out of the courthouse holding hands with his fiancee.</p> <p>In a statement issued through their lawyer, Mrs Nowland's family thanked the jury, Justice Harrison and the prosecution team.</p> <p>"The family will 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," they said.</p> <p>In March, a civil lawsuit filed by Mrs Nowland's family against the State of NSW was settled on confidential terms.</p> <p>NSW Police has been contacted for comment.</p> </body>