An Australian police officer was found guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday for deploying a Taser on a 95-year-old woman with dementia while responding to reports at her nursing home that she was armed with a knife.
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Kristian White, 34, a senior constable with New South Wales police, used his Taser on Clare Nowland on May 17, 2023, after finding her alone in a treatment room with a serrated-edge steak knife. The shock caused Nowland, who was 5-foot-2, 95 pounds and used a walker, to fall to the floor and hit her head. She died from her injuries a week later.
Video footage played in court showed that the encounter at the nursing home in Cooma, a small town about 250 miles south of Sydney, lasted about two to three minutes before White said, “Nah, bugger it,” and used his Taser, according to Sam Tierney, an attorney for Nowland’s family, and Australian media reports.
White’s attorneys had argued that his use of the Taser was a reasonable and proportionate use of force, and that Nowland had not complied with orders to drop the knife.
However, prosecutors argued that White’s use of a Taser was excessive, given Nowland’s advanced age and frail physical state, and how slowly she was moving. They also argued that White’s statement of “bugger it” before deploying the Taser – a term used to express annoyance or frustration – indicated White was “impatient” rather than fearing imminent violence.
An attorney for White did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment outside of office hours, and White did not answer questions from reporters as he left the court.
The incident caused an outcry in Australia and led civil liberties advocates to call for an investigation into police use of force.
“The court has found Clare Nowland died as a result of the actions of a police officer. This should never have happened,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said at a news conference. Webb, who expressed her “deepest condolences” to Nowland’s family, said White’s employment with the police force is under review.
Nowland, who celebrated her 75th birthday by climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge and her 80th birthday skydiving before becoming more frail in her later years, left behind eight children, 24 grandchildren and dozens of great-grandchildren. Her family is still “coming to grips” with the verdict, Tierney said in a phone interview Wednesday, adding that the verdict was “the first public confirmation of the fact that their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother was killed unlawfully by a New South Wales police officer.”
Official police guidelines state that a Taser should not be used against the elderly or disabled, unless “exceptional circumstances exist.” The police force reviewed its Taser policy and training this year, but no changes were made, Webb said during Wednesday’s news conference.
Nowland’s family hopes that will change with the coroner’s inquest. “One of the things the coroner will look at will be what changes or recommendations should be made,” Tierney said. “As part of the coroner’s inquiry, the question of the use of Tasers on elderly people and bringing Tasers into age-care facilities will come up.”
White has been out on bail for the entirety of the proceedings but will return to court on Thursday to hear arguments on whether he will be remanded into custody ahead of his sentencing.