Police are quietly renouncing their tasers with built-in cameras – as a great-grandmother, 95, dies after the cop shoots her with 50,000 volts
- NSW Police rolls out new Tasers without cameras
- Clare Nowland died after being tasered in a nursing home
Clare Nowland (pictured), a dementia sufferer who weighed just 43kg, died at Cooma Hospital in southern NSW around 7pm on Wednesday, a week after being tasered
The NSW Police Force is rolling out a new model of Taser that will not have built-in cameras – just weeks after the death of a 95-year-old woman who was shot with the weapon by an officer.
Great-grandmother Clare Nowland, who used a walker and suffered from dementia, died last Wednesday night at Cooma Hospital in southern NSW after falling and hitting her head when tasered.
She was allegedly tasered by Senior Constable Kristian White at the Yallambee Lodge aged care facility in the early hours of May 17.
The current Taser X26Ps, used by officers throughout the Force, have integrated cameras that automatically activate when the weapon is used.
But police confirmed this week that those Tasers have been “discontinued,” and the new Taser 7 is now being rolled out to officers across the state.
“The manufacturers of the Taser 7 have not included a camera in the device,” a police spokesperson confirms.
Senior Constable Kristian White, 33, allegedly asked Ms Nowland, who weighed just 43kg, to ‘stop’ on several occasions when she told her to drop the knife before saying ‘No, motherfucker’ and deploying his taser
Taser 7s can be integrated with body-worn sight, and NSWPF is working with companies to develop a holster activation device that causes the BWV to turn on when the Taser is drawn.
“NSWPF has enough BWV units for operational policing.”
However, that requires police to actively turn on their body-worn cameras at the time of an incident.
The development was first reported by Sky News.
Police were called to Ms Nowland’s nursing home when staff saw her wielding a knife in the early hours of May 17.
Mr White, 33, is said to have asked Ms Nowland to drop the knife before saying ‘No, motherfucker’ and using his taser.
Mr White has been charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault resulting in actual bodily harm and common assault. He is expected to contest the charges.
The incident is being investigated with footage of the encounter expected to be pivotal.
Current Taser X26Ps have built-in cameras that activate automatically when the weapon is used. They have been stopped by NSW Police
It is understood that a female officer who also responded to the call will not be charged, but may face disciplinary action.
Mr White is due to appear in Cooma local court on Wednesday 5th July 2023. Among the charges brought against him, reckless infliction of grievous bodily harm carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Assault involving actual bodily harm carries a prison sentence of up to seven years, while a conviction for common assault can lead to up to two years behind bars.
He remains suspended with pay.