Cop who tasered grandmother drops bid to get job back
Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White fired his Taser at 95-year-old Clare Nowland after being called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern NSW on May 17, 2023.
He avoided being jailed in March. He was given a two-year good behaviour bond and ordered to complete community service after a NSW Supreme Court jury found him guilty of manslaughter.
White was suspended from his job with pay for about 18 months but was notified after an initial guilty verdict in November 2024 that he would be suspended without pay.
That prompted him to take action at the Industrial Relations Commission against NSW Police.But on Monday he dropped his legal challenge, with the Supreme Court saying the matter was closed.
It comes nearly two weeks after White walked free in late July.
His sentence was upheld after three judges from the NSW Court of Appeal dismissed a legal challenge by prosecutors seeking a prison term.
The court considered that White had lost his job and was unwelcome in the small town of Cooma where he lived, chief judge Andrew Bell noted.
The 35-year-old has been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety, and has admitted to thoughts of self-harm since he was sentenced.
During the two-minute and 40-second encounter at Yallambee Lodge, White drew his stun gun and pointed it at Mrs Nowland for a minute before saying "Nah, bugger it" and discharging the weapon at her chest.
The 48kg great-grandmother, who had symptoms of dementia, fell and hit her head.She did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a week later after a brain bleed.
A former police officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old aged-care resident while on duty has dropped his bid to be reinstated to the force.
Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White fired his Taser at 95-year-old Clare Nowland after being called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern NSW on May 17, 2023.
He avoided being jailed in March. He was given a two-year good behaviour bond and ordered to complete community service after a NSW Supreme Court jury found him guilty of manslaughter.
White was suspended from his job with pay for about 18 months but was notified after an initial guilty verdict in November 2024 that he would be suspended without pay.
That prompted him to take action at the Industrial Relations Commission against NSW Police.But on Monday he dropped his legal challenge, with the Supreme Court saying the matter was closed.
It comes nearly two weeks after White walked free in late July.
His sentence was upheld after three judges from the NSW Court of Appeal dismissed a legal challenge by prosecutors seeking a prison term.
The court considered that White had lost his job and was unwelcome in the small town of Cooma where he lived, chief judge Andrew Bell noted.
The 35-year-old has been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety, and has admitted to thoughts of self-harm since he was sentenced.
During the two-minute and 40-second encounter at Yallambee Lodge, White drew his stun gun and pointed it at Mrs Nowland for a minute before saying "Nah, bugger it" and discharging the weapon at her chest.
The 48kg great-grandmother, who had symptoms of dementia, fell and hit her head.She did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a week later after a brain bleed.
A former police officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old aged-care resident while on duty has dropped his bid to be reinstated to the force.
Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White fired his Taser at 95-year-old Clare Nowland after being called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern NSW on May 17, 2023.
He avoided being jailed in March. He was given a two-year good behaviour bond and ordered to complete community service after a NSW Supreme Court jury found him guilty of manslaughter.
White was suspended from his job with pay for about 18 months but was notified after an initial guilty verdict in November 2024 that he would be suspended without pay.
That prompted him to take action at the Industrial Relations Commission against NSW Police.But on Monday he dropped his legal challenge, with the Supreme Court saying the matter was closed.
It comes nearly two weeks after White walked free in late July.
His sentence was upheld after three judges from the NSW Court of Appeal dismissed a legal challenge by prosecutors seeking a prison term.
The court considered that White had lost his job and was unwelcome in the small town of Cooma where he lived, chief judge Andrew Bell noted.
The 35-year-old has been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety, and has admitted to thoughts of self-harm since he was sentenced.
During the two-minute and 40-second encounter at Yallambee Lodge, White drew his stun gun and pointed it at Mrs Nowland for a minute before saying "Nah, bugger it" and discharging the weapon at her chest.
The 48kg great-grandmother, who had symptoms of dementia, fell and hit her head.She did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a week later after a brain bleed.
A former police officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old aged-care resident while on duty has dropped his bid to be reinstated to the force.
Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White fired his Taser at 95-year-old Clare Nowland after being called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern NSW on May 17, 2023.
He avoided being jailed in March. He was given a two-year good behaviour bond and ordered to complete community service after a NSW Supreme Court jury found him guilty of manslaughter.
White was suspended from his job with pay for about 18 months but was notified after an initial guilty verdict in November 2024 that he would be suspended without pay.
That prompted him to take action at the Industrial Relations Commission against NSW Police.But on Monday he dropped his legal challenge, with the Supreme Court saying the matter was closed.
It comes nearly two weeks after White walked free in late July.
His sentence was upheld after three judges from the NSW Court of Appeal dismissed a legal challenge by prosecutors seeking a prison term.
The court considered that White had lost his job and was unwelcome in the small town of Cooma where he lived, chief judge Andrew Bell noted.
The 35-year-old has been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety, and has admitted to thoughts of self-harm since he was sentenced.
During the two-minute and 40-second encounter at Yallambee Lodge, White drew his stun gun and pointed it at Mrs Nowland for a minute before saying "Nah, bugger it" and discharging the weapon at her chest.
The 48kg great-grandmother, who had symptoms of dementia, fell and hit her head.She did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a week later after a brain bleed.
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The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Kristian White: Former cop who tasered 95yo drops reinstatement bid
A former police officer who avoided jail after fatally tasering a 95-year-old woman has abandoned a legal bid to be reinstated. Kristian White, 34, tasered Clare Nowland at the Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma on May 17, 2023. White was found guilty of manslaughter in November and sentenced to a two-year community corrections order and ordered to perform 425 hours of community service. The Court of Criminal Appeal last month dismissed an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions that White's sentence was inadequate. Following his conviction, White was in December sacked from the NSW Police Force. 'I have determined that I do not have confidence in the officer's suitability to continue as a police officer,' then NSW Police commissioner Karen Webb said at the time. 'Accordingly, I have removed him from the NSW Police Force and he has been advised via his legal counsel.' Kristian White. Picture: NewsWire/Nikki Short. Clare Nowland. Picture: Supplied Late last year, White filed an application in the NSW Industrial Commission for his dismissal to be reviewed. The matter was due to come before the commission on Tuesday. But the court on Monday confirmed that it had received a notice of discontinuance in the matter. White had been responding to reports Mrs Nowland was being 'very aggressive' on the morning he tasered her. Mrs Nowland held a single knife and penlight when White found her in an office about 5am. He repeatedly told Mrs Nowland to drop the blade before saying 'bugger it' and tasering her following a confrontation spanning less than three minutes.
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Former cop who tasered Clare Nowland drops reinstatement bid
A former police officer who avoided jail after fatally tasering a 95-year-old woman has abandoned a legal bid to be reinstated. Kristian White, 34, tasered Clare Nowland at the Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma on May 17, 2023. White was found guilty of manslaughter in November and sentenced to a two-year community corrections order and ordered to perform 425 hours of community service. The Court of Criminal Appeal last month dismissed an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions that White's sentence was inadequate. Following his conviction, White was in December sacked from the NSW Police Force. 'I have determined that I do not have confidence in the officer's suitability to continue as a police officer,' then NSW Police commissioner Karen Webb said at the time. 'Accordingly, I have removed him from the NSW Police Force and he has been advised via his legal counsel.' Late last year, White filed an application in the NSW Industrial Commission for his dismissal to be reviewed. The matter was due to come before the commission on Tuesday. But the court on Monday confirmed that it had received a notice of discontinuance in the matter. White had been responding to reports Mrs Nowland was being 'very aggressive' on the morning he tasered her. Mrs Nowland held a single knife and penlight when White found her in an office about 5am. He repeatedly told Mrs Nowland to drop the blade before saying 'bugger it' and tasering her following a confrontation spanning less than three minutes.
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Former officer who tasered 95yo Clare Nowland backs down from bid to get job back in police force
Former NSW police officer Kristian White, who avoided a jail sentence for fatally tasering a 95-year-old woman, has discontinued a bid to have his removal from the force reviewed. A jury found White guilty of manslaughter over the death of Clare Nowland last November. He had been called to Cooma's Yallambee Lodge, where Ms Nowland had been wandering the aged care facility with two knives from the kitchen in May 2023. Ms Nowland, who used a four-wheeled walker to move around, was holding one of the knives in the nurses' office when police and paramedics attempted to get her to put it down. White said "bugger it" and deployed his taser, causing the great-grandmother to fall backwards and hit her head. Ms Nowland died a week later. White was removed from the police force in December, following the jury's guilty verdict. He was sentenced to a two-year community correction order and 425 hours of community service — a result the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) unsuccessfully appealed against. White filed an application in the Industrial Relations Commission which sought a review of the decision to remove him from the police force. That matter was due for a conciliation hearing on Tuesday. However, the commission received a notice of discontinuance, which means the matter is closed. During the appeal process, the DPP attempted to argue the sentence was manifestly inadequate, among four grounds of appeal. The Court of Criminal Appeal disagreed. It found that while the sentence was "lenient", conviction of manslaughter in the "exceptional circumstances of this case" did not mandate a custodial term. The court found the sentencing judge, Justice Ian Harrison, made no errors in his approach. That included considering White's "strong" subjective circumstances, such as the loss of his job, and inability to live in his local community. Members of the Nowland family have expressed disappointment at the sentence and appeal result, saying they were "struggling to come to terms" with it. White had already completed 120 hours of his community service leading up to the appeal hearing in June.
