A police officer who unlawfully killed an aged-care resident with dementia by shooting her with a Taser could be thrown behind bars a day after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter.
Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White discharged his stun gun at Clare Nowland in a treatment room at Yallambee Lodge aged-care home in the southern NSW town of Cooma during the early hours of May 17, 2023.
In video footage played at his NSW Supreme Court trial, White was heard saying ‘nah, bugger it’ before shooting the great-grandmother in the torso.
Mrs Nowland, who was holding a steak knife at the time, fell backwards and hit her head before dying a week later in hospital.
White is still working for the police force which is undergoing a review of his employment.
As the jury delivered its guilty verdict on Wednesday, he stood silent, closing his eyes and bowing his head.
Crown prosecutors immediately made an application to detain the 34-year-old in custody but Justice Ian Harrison postponed the hearing until Thursday.
He said he would need evidence about the conditions that White would face in prison given he was a police officer.
Senior constable Kristian White (pictured) faces 25 years behind bars after he was found guilty of the manslaughter of Clare Nowland in her rural NSW nursing home on Wednesday
Mrs Nowland (pictured) who was holding a steak knife when she was tasered by the constable, fell backwards and hit her head before dying a week later in hospital
Officers are typically housed away from other inmates as they can be targets for criminals who have also been locked away behind bars.
On Wednesday, defence barrister Troy Edwards SC argued that a jail sentence was not inevitable for White given the wide range of possible punishments for manslaughter.
The charge carries a maximum jail term of 25 years.
