Tasered grandmother Clare Nowland: Senior Constable Kristian White suspended from duty

A senior constable who Tasered a 95-year-old great grandmother has been suspended from duty with pay.

NSW Police Senior Constable Kristian White blasted Clare Nowland with the Taser at the Yallambie Lodge nursing home in Cooma in southern NSW, early last Wednesday.

Mrs Nowland, who suffers from dementia and weighs 43kg, was carrying her walking frame and a steak knife when emergency services arrived at the nursing home.

She was asked to drop the knife before being Tasered. She fell backwards, struck her head on the floor and is now receiving end of life care.

The incident has sparked international outrage with NSW Police confirming on Tuesday morning Constable White had been suspended. 

‘Today (Tuesday 23 May 2023) a 33-year-old senior constable attached to Monaro Police District was suspended from duty with pay,’ the statement read.

‘As investigations continue into the critical incident, further updates will be provided.’

Senior Constable White has 12 years experience in the police force and had been featured on the Monaro Police District Facebook page over the years. 

The investigation into Mr White is reportedly going to centre on what he said before firing the Taser. 

Mr White and a police colleague were previously criticised by a magistrate over their actions during a confrontation with a member of the public which occurred outside their jurisdiction three years ago.

The two officers confronted a man on a motorbike in a service station in Hume in the ACT and recorded the encounter on their body-worn cameras.

A Canberra court heard the officers suspected Allan Watts, was drug affected and detained him until Australian Federal Police officers arrived at the scene, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. 

Watts was later charged with driving while disqualified and possession of a knife in public.

His solicitor argued the NSW officers had gone outside their jurisdiction and didn’t not have the power to detain him or record on their body-worn cameras.

The court also heard Senior Constable White’s colleague had told Watts they would ‘break your legs’ if he tried to flee.

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ACT magistrate Bernadette Boss ruled the police body-worn video footage was inadmissible and dismissed the charges.

She was scathing of the officers and described their conduct as ‘outrageous’, according to an ABC report from the time. 

Meanwhile, a senior police officer and security guards have been stationed at the hospital where Mrs Nowland is fighting for life.

Family friend, Andrew Thaler, also said private security guards had been deployed at the hospital and are ‘vetting everyone who wants to visit Ms Nowland’.

Mr Thaler has made repeated calls for Police Commissioner Karen Webb to sit with Mrs Nowland’s family for the difficult task of watching the body worn footage of her being Tasered as she slowly approached officers on her walking frame.

Commissioner Webb had said she didn’t want the footage ‘tainting’ her views on the case. 

It’s understood the 95-year-old is in and out of consciousness and her breathing has shallowed, as her eight children and their families take turns speaking to her. 

Mrs Nowland suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain as a result of her falling after being Tasered.

The critical incident investigation has been elevated to ‘level one’ because of Mrs Nowland suffering an injury that could lead to her death.

Detectives from the State Homicide Squad and Law Enforcement Conduct Commission are investigating what happened and if the forced used was appropriate.