Jury watches shockingly dramatic moments from 95-year-old cop

A police officer told an elderly woman showing signs of dementia before tasering her that they were “not playing that game” in dramatic footage played during the criminal trial.

Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White fired a stun gun at great-grandmother Clare Nowland at the Yallambee Lodge aged care home in the south. NSW The town of Cooma in the early hours of May 17, 2023.

The 95-year-old man, who hit his head on the ground when he fell, suffered an inoperable hemorrhage in the brain and died a week later at Cooma Hospital.

Clare Nowland, 95, died after being tasered by a police officer. (A Current Event)

Court Exhibits show Nowlands Pajamas with shock markings — Footage released by the court shows Clare Nowland’s Taser-marked pajamas. (Nine)

White is on trial in the NSW Supreme Court for manslaughter.

Today the jury was shown the incident using footage from the aged care facility’s CCTV cameras as well as White and his partner’s body-worn cameras.

As the 95-year-old man approached them with a knife from inside one of the centre’s treatment rooms, White was heard saying: “We’re not playing this game, Clare, you’re going to let this one go.”

Jurors heard an electrical crackle from the Taser when White activated it but did not initially fire.

“If you keep coming, you’ll get Tased,” he said.

As Nowland continued to advance despite warnings, the 34-year-old man was heard saying “no, damn it” before firing his gun.

Court exhibits show inside nursing home where Nowland was allegedly tasered — Inside the nursing home where Clare Nowland was tasered. (Nine)

Court Exhibits show knives found in Nowland's room — Pictures shown in court showed two steak knives and a pen light on the table in the treatment room. Nowland was holding one of the steak knives while he was Tased. (Nine)

Kristian White appeared in court yesterday at the start of his manslaughter trial. (Steven Siewert)

The 95-year-old man was seen being hit and leaning forward, then falling back to the ground where he lay motionless.

“Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha,” White shouted.

Although there is no dispute that the 34-year-old man discharged his stun gun, which led to Nowland’s death, the officer stands by his actions.

Yesterday defense barrister Troy Edwards SC said his client had a duty to protect others from injury or death and took action to counter the risk Nowland posed with the knife.

But lead prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC told jurors that the use of force amounted to criminal negligence and that a reasonable person would have foreseen the possibility of serious injury.

Related Posts