NSW police officer Kristian White guilty of manslaughter after Taser death of 95-year-old Clare Nowland

A police officer who fatally shocked a 95-year-old woman with symptoms of dementia could face a lengthy prison term after a jury found him guilty of her wrongful death.

Senior Constable Christian James Samuel White fired his stun gun at Claire Nowland in a treatment room at Yallambee Lodge nursing home in the southern New Wales town of Cooma in the early hours of May 17, 2023.

In video footage played during the trial in the NSW Supreme Court, the 34-year-old police officer was heard saying “no, fuck it” before shooting the great-grandmother in the torso.

Mrs Knowland, who was holding a steak knife at the time, fell backwards and hit her head before dying a week later in hospital.

After hearing evidence and testimony during the eight-day trial, the 12-person jury returned a guilty verdict of manslaughter on Wednesday.

They deliberated for 20 hours.

Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC successfully argued that White was criminally negligent or committed an unlawful and dangerous act by firing the Taser in a move that was “wholly unnecessary”.

In sentencing, the jury rejected defense barrister Troy Edwards SC’s arguments that the 34-year-old officer’s use of the Taser was a proportionate response to the threat Ms Nowland posed.