By Sarah McPhee, Clare Sibthorpe and Daniel Lo Surdo
Former NSW Police officer Kristian White will not spend a single night in custody for killing 95-year-old Clare Nowland, in a result the great-grandmother’s family described as a “slap on the wrist”, but will forever remain unwelcome in the community he intends to leave.
White avoided jail when he was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Friday for the manslaughter of Nowland, who he Tasered inside the Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma in the early hours of May 17, 2023. He had been on bail since the incident.
White said “nah, bugger it” before he discharged his weapon at Nowland, as she stood with her walking frame and held a knife. She fell and hit her head and died in hospital seven days later.
Justice Ian Harrison said the crime fell at the lower end of seriousness for offences of manslaughter, and it was “a suitable case” for a Community Correction Order.
The judge imposed a two-year CCO – effectively a good behaviour bond – commencing on Friday, with the conditions being to not commit another offence, 425 hours of community service work, and supervision by a community corrections officer.
White ‘no risk or danger’ to community
In sentencing White, who had been a police officer for 12 years, Harrison said he had “already suffered extra-curial punishment as a result of his action”.
Kristian White leaves court after being sentenced for the manslaughter of Clare Nowland.Credit: Sam Mooy
“His employment has been terminated. Moreover, as the victim impact statements make perfectly plain, he has become an unwelcome member of the local Cooma community as the result of what he has done,” Harrison said.
“Cooma is the town in which he had made his home with his young family. It will be difficult for him to continue to live there as the negative opinions of him held by Mrs Nowland’s family are unlikely to change”.
In White’s letter of apology to Nowland’s family and the court, he said he would “likely leave the region once the court proceedings are finalised”.
“I have lost the job and career I enjoyed immensely and dedicated myself to for over a decade,” he said.
The court heard White has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. He is seeking a review in the Industrial Relations Commission of Commissioner Karen Webb’s decision to remove him from the force.
White’s fiancee, in an affidavit tendered last year, said the couple had no relatives in Cooma and their friendship group was “quite small, particularly as a result of the adverse publicity that this matter has generated”.
Harrison added that a custodial sentence would be “unduly onerous” for a former police officer whose imprisonment could only be served in some form of protective isolation.
Kristian White arrives at the NSW Supreme Court with his fiancee for his sentencing.Credit: Sam Mooy
A custodial sentence would have also been “disproportionate” to the objective seriousness and White’s subjective circumstances, the judge said, adding the 35-year-old does not pose a risk of reoffending, or a risk or danger to the community.
Family struggle to process decision
Speaking outside court after the sentence was handed down, Nowland’s eldest child, Michael Nowland, said the decision was “obviously very disappointing for the family”.
“A slap on the wrist for someone that’s killed our mother - it’s very, very hard to sort of process that, so speaking out is very emotional”.
Clare Nowland was Tasered inside Yallambee Lodge in Cooma in May 2023.
He said White’s letter of remorse was put to the court two days before the sentence hearing “so there was no remorse in that”.
“Justice and fairness - that’s all we wanted,” he said.
Members of Nowland’s family, who filled multiple rows of the public gallery, wiped tears from their eyes and embraced each other after the decision.
White arrived at court hand-in-hand with his fiancee, who he kissed and hugged upon learning his fate.
Defence solicitor Warwick Anderson said White and his family were “very relieved” with the outcome.
Kristian White in court on Friday to learn his fate.Credit: Rocco Fazzari
“They haven’t lost sight of the tragedy of Mrs Nowland,” Anderson said outside court.
“They’re now going to take their time and move on with their lives”.
As for whether the state would lodge a rare appeal against White’s sentence, a spokeswoman from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said: “The ODPP will consider the sentence handed down today in accordance with the Prosecution Guidelines.”
White ‘completely misunderstood’ situation
Harrison said the Tasering of Nowland was unlawful “because it was not, and could not have been, reasonably necessary to use such force” on the “frail and confused” 95-year-old woman. Nowland had been suffering from symptoms consistent with a cognitive impairment such as dementia, but had not been formally diagnosed.
“Mr White made what by any measure was a terrible mistake,” the judge said.
“For reasons that may never clearly be understood, if understood at all, he deployed his Taser in response to what he perceived to be a threat that in my view never called for such a response.”
Harrison found it “falls at the lower end of the objective seriousness for crimes of this type”.
“Mr White completely and, on one available view, inexplicably misread and misunderstood the dynamics of the situation that he faced and patently overestimated the existence and the level of the threat created by Mrs Nowland in the circumstances,” he said.
The judge said White was called to the nursing home in the course of his work, had been tasked with a lawful duty to reduce the risk and ensure the safety of others, and “could not have chosen to do nothing”. The incident was not premeditated nor planned, Harrison said.
“In all respects, he was a disinterested contributor to what happened,” the judge said.
He described White’s actions and decisions as “flawed”.
“The complete and utter frustration and despair exhibited by her [Nowland’s] family in the circumstances is easy to understand when things could so easily have been handled better,” Harrison said.
Get alerts on significant breaking news as it happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.