Shocking reason why Senior Constable Kristian White ‘needed’ to taser great-grandmother Clare Nowland

A police officer who fatally fired his Taser at a great-grandmother says he “had to” discharge his weapon even though it was not “intended to Taser the elderly,” a court has been told.

Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White was supported by his wife as he walked into the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Monday morning.

The 34-year-old has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and will fight the charge at a trial that will last three weeks.

He is accused of killing 95-year-old Clare Nowland after he was called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma, southern NSW, to respond to an incident in the early hours of May 17 last year.

Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC told jurors that Constable White was called to assist carers with a resident who was wielding a knife and was described as ‘aggressive’.

The court was told Ms Nowland could not be located when police arrived at the lodge at around 5am, but she was later found sitting in a room with her four-wheel walker and a knife.

Mr Hatfield said Constable White asked her to put the knife down a number of times, who then said ‘go ahead’ and fired his Taser at her chest.

Ms Nowland, who was showing symptoms of dementia, fell backwards and suffered ‘inoperable’ injuries. Less than a week later she died in hospital.

“The Crown alleges that Constable White’s conduct amounted to manslaughter by criminal negligence or manslaughter by an unlawful and dangerous act,” Hatfield said.

He claimed the 34-year-old had breached his duty of care to Ms Nowland and that his actions ‘fell far short’ of the reasonable care expected of a police officer.

The Crown will investigate whether the police force exceeded what was reasonably necessary given Ms Nowland’s age, vulnerability and lack of mobility.

However, Constable White’s barrister Troy Edwards SC argued it was ‘the sworn duty of a police officer to stop the threat and counter the risk’ Ms Nowland posed to herself and others while holding the knife.

He said police officers have a duty “to prevent a breach of the peace,” which was “exactly what happened” at the retirement home on the morning of May 17.

“I took a look and we are probably not supposed to taser elderly people, but in these circumstances I had to do that,” Constable White reportedly told a colleague after the incident.

Mr Edwards said his client’s explanation for his actions had not changed since he deployed his Taser.

“Because a violent confrontation was imminent and to prevent injury to police, the Taser was discharged,” Constable White wrote in an incident report that day.

Constable White is currently out on bail (photo arrives in court on Monday)

Mr Edwards said the police officer was made aware of Ms Nowland’s ‘increasing aggression’ and ‘decreasing cognitive function’ when he responded to the call.

The court was told that before May 2023, the great-grandmother had become violent towards nursing home staff and hospital staff, punching and attempting to bite those helping her.

In the hours before Constable White arrived at the house with his colleague, Ms Nowland had been seen with two knives in her hand. She threw one at a carer but it landed on the floor, the court was told.

“A reasonable person in Constable White’s position would not consider that the use of force is disproportionate to the risk,” Mr Edwards said.

“Constable White was acting in the execution of his duty when he discharged his Taser.”

Mr Hatfield said the nearly three-minute confrontation was captured on body-worn cameras and surveillance footage at the nursing home, which would be shown during the trial.

Clare Nowland’s family and friends filled the public gallery on the first day of the trial (pictured)

Mrs Nowland’s daughter, Lesley Lloyd, received a call about her mother during the night and offered to help, but she heard nothing from staff until they called to inform her of her mother’s fall.

She told the court she was rushed to hospital and was told at around 6am that her mother would not survive the brain haemorrhage.

Mrs. Nowland is survived by eight children, 24 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.