Grandmother, 95, who was tasered by senior cop, dies after cop was accused of recklessly harming her
- A police officer was charged with tasered grandma
- Senior Constable Kristian White, 33, faces three fouls
- One charge was ‘recklessly causing grievous bodily harm’
The 95-year-old grandmother who was tasered by a police officer at a retirement home has died.
Clare Nowland, a dementia sufferer who weighs just 43kg, was clutching a steak knife as she ‘slowly’ approached a police officer at Yallambee Lodge in southern NSW just after 4am last Wednesday.
Senior Constable Kristian White, 33, then fired a taser at Ms Nowland, causing her to fall to the floor, hit her head and suffer a brain hemorrhage.
Her death was confirmed shortly after 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
White was charged Wednesday night with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault with actual bodily harm and common assault.
Just hours after he was charged, relatives confirmed that she died surrounded by family at Cooma Hospital.
Clare Nowland (pictured, after taking part in a skydive in 2008) was holding a steak knife as she ‘slowly’ approached the police officer
Senior Officer Kristian White White (pictured during a police parade) was charged Wednesday night with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, assault with actual bodily harm and common assault
Speaking at a press conference, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said: “This matter is now in court and there is little more I can say about it than to say that the Nowland family has been made aware of this development”.
Commissioner Webb added that her “thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Nowland and her family tonight.”
White is due to appear in Cooma local court on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Among the charges awaiting 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.
The officer remains suspended with pay.
Ms Nowland (pictured) is now receiving end-of-life care at Cooma District Hospital, in southern NSW, after being tasered by an officer early Wednesday morning
Commissioner Webb said: “His employment will continue to be reviewed but at this time he is still suspended from the workplace”.
She added that the charges against White could be upgraded. ‘It is possible. It depends on what happens,” she said.
When asked why she would not release the footage of Ms. Nowland being tasered, she replied, “I’m not the investigator.”
The investigation into the critical incident continues.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb (pictured) said her ‘thoughts and prayers are with Ms Nowland and her family tonight’
The Yallambee Lodge in South NSW where the Taser incident took place is pictured