Police officer who shocked 95-year-old woman in nursing home found guilty | World | News

In an Australian court, the police officer who fired a stun gun at a 95-year-old great-grandmother with dementia was found guilty of manslaughter.

On Wednesday, a jury found Kristian White guilty at a trial in Sydney after 20 hours of deliberation. White, who was released on bail, faces up to 25 years in prison when convicted.

Clare Nowland, a great-grandmother who has dementia and uses a walker, was refusing to let go of the steak knife in her hand when the officer threw the stun gun at her in May 2023.

Ms Nowland fell backwards after White shocked her and died in hospital a week later.

Police said at the time that Ms. Nowland’s fatal injuries were caused by her head hitting the ground, not directly from the device’s debilitating electric shock.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb told reporters after the decision that White’s employment was under review and subject to due process.

He said: “The court finds that Claire Nowland died as a result of the actions of a police officer. This should never have happened.”

Commissioner Webb offered his “deepest condolences” to Ms. Nowland’s family. He added that state police reviewed Taser policy and training in January and no changes were made.

In video footage played during the New South Wales Supreme Court hearing, White was heard saying “no, damn it” before firing his gun after officers told Nowland 21 times to drop the knife.

White, 34, told the jury that he had been taught that anyone using a knife was dangerous, the Guardian reported.

But after an eight-day trial, the jury rejected arguments from White’s lawyers that the use of the Taser was a proportionate response to the threat posed by Ms Nowland, who weighed around seven kilos.

Local news outlets reported that the prosecutor argued that White’s Taser use was “completely unnecessary and clearly excessive.”

The extraordinary incident sparked controversy over how officers across the state use Tasers, a device that blocks the use of electricity.

Ms Nowland, who lives at Yallambee Lodge, a nursing home in the town of Cooma, is survived by eight children, 24 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.