A police officer who Tasered a 95-year-old woman at an Australian care home has been found guilty of her manslaughter.
Senior Constable Kristian White, 34, used his weapon on Clare Nowland a great-grandmother who had dementia and used a walker.
Nowland refused to put down the steak knife she was holding and when shocked by the officer she fell backward and struck her head on the floor on May 17, 2023.
Her death a week later caused public outcry, but White argued at trial that his use of force was reasonable and proportionate to the threat.
In video footage played to jurors at New South Wales Supreme Court, officers told Mrs Nowland 21 times to put the knife down at Yallambee Lodge in Cooma, about 71 miles south of Canberra.
White was heard saying “nah, bugger it” before discharging his weapon
He told the jury he had been taught that any person wielding a knife was dangerous.
Prosecutors, however, said Mrs Nowland - who weighed under 48kg (105lb) - was not a danger and that the “impatient” officer had neglected his duty of care.
Mrs Nowland was survived by eight children, 24 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb told reporters after the verdict: “The court has found Claire Nowland died as a result of the actions of a police officer. This should never have happened.”
She offered her “deepest condolences” to Mrs Nowland’s family.
State police reviewed its Taser policy and training in January and no changes to it were made, she added.
White, who remains on bail, will be sentenced at a later date.
In a statement, Mrs Nowland’s family said they “will take some time to come to terms with the jury’s confirmation that Clare’s death at the hands of a serving NSW police officer was a criminal and unjustified act”.
