Cop who tasered 95-year-old sacked after guilty verdict

An experienced officer who killed an elderly woman by tasering her in an aged-care home has been sacked from the force nearly a week after his guilty verdict. Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White fatally discharged his Taser at 95-year-old Clare Nowland in a treatment room at Yallambee Lodge in the southern NSW town of Cooma during the early hours of May 17, 2023. A jury unanimously found White guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday, with crown prosecutors making an unsuccessful bid to place him behind bars a day later. The 34-year-old was removed from the NSW Police Force on Tuesday by Commissioner Karen Webb. "I have determined that I do not have confidence in the officer's suitability to continue as a police officer," she said in a statement, adding that White had been advised of the move through his lawyers. Ms Webb added she had also spoken with Mrs Nowland's family to notify them of the decision. Despite the guilty verdict, White is due to remain on bail until at least February, when he will be sentenced. Police and paramedics were called to Mrs Nowland's nursing home after the great-grandmother grabbed two steak knives from a kitchen and brandished them at residents and staff before throwing one at a carer. White pulled the Taser's trigger after three minutes of negotiations to get her to put down the remaining knife. He was heard in video footage played at his trial saying "nah, bugger it" before shooting Mrs Nowland in the torso. She hit her head on the floor as she fell and died at Cooma Hospital a week later. White had been suspended from duties with pay during his trial but was removed from the payroll a day after his guilty verdict. The case has been listed for a sentence hearing on February 7.