Guilty taser cop Kristian White’s potential last night of freedom as sentencing looms

The NSW policeman found guilty of manslaughter over the taser death of great-grandmother Clare Nowland will learn his fate today.

The NSW policeman found guilty of manslaughter over the taser death of great-grandmother Clare Nowland will learn his fate on Friday.

Almost two years since the 95-year-old woman died inside a Cooma nursing home, former Senior Constable Kristian White will be sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court.

White, who was sacked by NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb after a jury unanimously found him guilty of manslaughter, has not spent a night in custody.

But that could all change when Justice Ian Harrison delivers his sentence at 9.30am.

The maximum penalty for manslaughter in NSW is 25 years imprisonment, however, during White’s sentencing hearing in February, Justice Harrison hinted the former officer might be spared time in custody, saying a jail sentence was “not inevitable”.

Kristian White arrives at the Supreme Court with his wife for sentencing. NewsWire / Simon Bullard.

White and a colleague were called to a nursing home on May 17, 2023, to what nurses described as a “very aggressive” resident who was holding two knives.

The jury heard that within three minutes of White interacting with Ms Nowland, he pointed his Taser at her chest and deployed it.

“Nah … just bugger it,” White said.

Mrs Nowland fell backwards and hit her head on the floor. She was taken to hospital and died a few day later.

At White’s sentencing hearing, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC said the officer’s actions were “utterly unnecessary and obviously excessive”.

“This case warrants, on its face, a full-time custodial sentence,” he said.

Mrs Clare Nowland, 95, who was tasered by police at a Cooma nursing home.

He also argued that White’s sentence should act as a general deterrence for police officers to exercise caution when executing their duty.

White’s defence barrister Troy Edwards SC urged Justice Harrison to take into account witness statements from staff at Yallambee Lodge nursing home who expressed feeling threatened by Mrs Nowland.

“He was motivated by an honestly held belief that he was meeting the threat the deceased posed,” Mr Edwards said during the sentencing hearing.

Mr Edwards said the offence “falls at the very lowest end of the offence of manslaughter.”

White is seeking a review of the decision to fire him from the police force in the Industrial Relations Commission. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

The Nowland family is expected to be at court for the sentencing, having already said they were “disappointed” White was not placed in custody when he was found guilty last year.

“The family is struggling to understand why the Court felt it was appropriate to leave Mr White on bail and free in the Cooma community without any real restrictions in light of that conviction,” they said in a statement, issued by their lawyer Sam Tierney.

White has launched separate proceedings in the Industrial Relations Commission seeking a review of the NSW Police decision to remove him from the force.

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