A police officer has saved himself from jail and will comply with a two -year judgment in the community for fatally stucking a great -grandmother with dementia.
Former NSW police officer Kristian White was In November last year, for the death of Clare Nowland, 95, in May 2023.
White triggered her taser to the woman after being called to the Care House of Yallambee Lodge in the city of Cooma in the NSW.
Nowland held a knife as he used a walking frame and had been ignoring the attempts of the staff to disarm it before they shot him with the weapon.
The 35 -year -old officer said “Nah, he manages” before shooting the taser spikes in his chest, making her fall and hitting her head. The great -grandmother suffered a hemorrhage in the brain and .
On Friday, Judge Ian Harrison said in the Supreme Court of Nueva Gales del Sur that White had made a “terrible mistake” and an error of judgment, but that his crime fell at the lower extreme of objective seriousness.
Clare Nowland died after being priced at her elderly care home by police officer Kristian White. Fountain: AAPA / Supplied
The shooting of the stunning gun after just a few minutes of trying to disarm Nowland was illegal, dangerous and turned out to read evil or misunderstanding the situation, the judge said.
“A fragile and confused woman, 95, in fact, did not represent anything that could be reasonably described as a threat of any substance,” he told the courtroom.
“Frustration and complete and absolute despair exhibited by his family in circumstances is easy to understand when things could have been handled so easily,” he said.
However, White was only caught in the incident as a police officer who had been legally called to the center of attention, the judge said.
“He was asked to resolve the situation … and he couldn’t have chosen doing nothing,” he said.
There were tears of members of the Nowland family, while the former officer was inexpressive when his sentence was transmitted.
In a letter to the Nowland family provided to the Court, White apologized and expressed his regret.
“I assume all the responsibility of my actions, I felt and I still feel horrible for what happened,” he wrote.
“I don’t hope I take my apology as a request for forgiveness and I understand that you suffer a lot.”
The former officer has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and post -traumatic disorder after the incident and will have to move from the small city of Cooma due to anger against him there.
‘Beat on the wrist’
Speaking outside the court, Nowland’s son, Michael Nowland, described the sentence “a slap on the wrist”, adding that it was “difficult to process.”
White will have to perform 425 hours of community service as part of his two -year community corrections order.
White was withdrawn from the police force in December after the guilt verdict, but has launched legal actions for a review of that decision.
