Tasered great grandmother Clare Nowland’s final moments are laid bare in court documents for Kristian White’s case: ‘See you are going to get Tasered’
Shocking details about 95-year-old Clare Nowland’s final moments before she was tasered and knocked unconscious have been revealed after a judge revealed police facts in the case.
The NSW police records show that the great-grandmother carried two kitchen knives and entered the room of three other residents – an elderly woman and two men – in her nursing home.
The facts show that when staff tried to coax Ms. Nowland’s knives, she threw one at a member of staff.
Accused Officer Senior Constable Kristian White grabbed a Taser 7 from Cooma Police Station and arrived at Yallambee Lodge in the south of the state at 4:49 a.m. on May 17 with his partner, a female sergeant.
At 5:05 a.m., police found Ms. Nowland, arriving in the hallway outside the treatment room with paramedics positioned in the doorway.
Asked to place the knife on the desk, Mrs. Nowland placed a flashlight on the desk and began to walk ahead on her walker, still holding the knife.
The female sergeant entered the room and was about three feet from Mrs. Nowland, who raised her hand and aimed the knife at the officer, forcing her to retreat to the rear.
Mrs. Nowland then turned the knife back on the sergeant. At that point, Kristian White initially activated his Taser 7′ towards Mrs. Nowland’s chest area with lights and the laser pointer on her person, without deploying the weapon.
A judge has released details of 95-year-old Clare Nowland (above)’s last moments before she was tasered, hit her head and never regained consciousness before dying a week later
Both White and the sergeant instructed Mrs. Nowland – who was only three to six feet away – to pull over.
White then told her, “Clare, stop now, see this, this is a Taser, drop it now, drop it, this is your first warning.”
Mrs. Nowland continues forward and the sergeant tells White ‘maybe do the bow, warn’ and White says ‘Clare, stop’ and activates the Warning Arc – a brief visual and audible warning display of the Taser’s electric arc without deploying it of the probes.
The facts state that Mrs. Nowland “appeared to have little to no response to the ‘Warning Arc’ and continued to move slowly toward the doorway.”
White said, “See, you’re being tasered,” and “Clare stop.” Nowland raised her right hand holding the knife at chest level and White then said, “Not crazy” and deployed the Taser 7 on Ms. Nowland from about five to six feet away, the probes hitting her in the chest.
“Nowland, who was still partially holding the walker with her left hand, fell backwards and hit her head hard on the wooden floor.”
Officers rushed forward to perform CPR and found “a large bump” on Ms Nowland’s head.
Ms Nowland died a week later at Cooma Hospital, sparking global outrage.
She died on the evening of May 24, surrounded by relatives among her eight children, 24 grandchildren, and 30 great-grandchildren.
White was charged with three alleged assault charges for firing his weapon at the dementia patient when she approached him on her body with a knife in her hand.
Clare Nowland’s family released a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying they found the alleged facts in the case “extremely confronting and shocking” and asked for privacy.
Clare Nowland had wandered from her room at Yallambee Lodge nursing home in the early hours of May 17 when the police were called and she was hit with a taser
The facts were made public by NSW High Court Judge Robert Beech-Jones a day after he released the officer charged with Tasering Ms Nowland on bail under strict bail conditions.
Justice Beech-Jones delayed the release of the police facts in the case by a day to give Ms Nowland’s family a chance to read them before they became public knowledge.
His Honor on Tuesday described the allegations against the 33-year-old officer as “undoubtedly serious” but authorized the redacted copy of the police facts to be released Wednesday afternoon.
Judge Beech-Jones granted White bail Tuesday after a hearing in which the officer appeared via Audio Visual Link from an unspecified location, while prosecutors filed a warrant to release him on bail on conditions, including a ban on any contact with the late great-grandmother’s family.
Taser agent Kristian White (above right) has been charged with three counts of violent crime in the case of Clare Nowland, 95, on unconditional bail
Dressed in a suit and tie, Senior Constable White politely answered a brief question before being ordered to behave well, to appear in court when required in the future and not to harm Mrs Nowland’s family or any witnesses in the case to approach.
He has been living free in the community on unconditional bail since he was charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, assault with bodily harm and common assault on the afternoon shortly before Mrs. Nowland died.
He was charged via subpoena and has remained on unconditional bail, but that is likely to change as prosecutors demand conditions be imposed if he is allowed to remain in the community.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb has been charged with covering up after police spin doctors shrugged publicity over Ms Nowland’s alleged attack on any mention of the Tasering, that Nowland had a knife, that it was in a nursing home or that the employment of the agent under review
Suspended police officer Kristian White (above in Cooma last month) appears before the NSW High Court as prosecutors ask for his detention or strict bail conditions
The new details in the case come after it was revealed that Ms Nowland’s family is suing the state of NSW over her alleged assault and has filed a civil suit on her behalf over her death.
Ms. Nowland, a 43kg, 157cm great-grandmother with dementia, was tasered in a nursing home treatment room as she slowly approached Snr. Constable White and a female sergeant.
After Sr. Constable White fired his taser at her and she fell. Mrs. Nowland never regained consciousness before she died.
It is alleged that the officer tasered Ms. Nowland after asking her to to ‘stop’ several times and then say ‘Oh damn it’ as he deployed the Taser.
Despite the huge public interest in the tasering of 95-year-old Ms Nowland, Commissioner Webb has consistently refused to view bodycam footage of the incident, which senior police described as ‘confrontational’.