Australian police officer who tasered the 95-year-old has been found guilty of manslaughter

SYDNEY, Australia – An Australian police officer fatally shocked a 95-year-old nursing home resident with a Taser gun was found guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday.

Kristian White was called to a nursing home in Cooma, a town about 90 minutes south of the capital Canberra, in May 2023, after reports that resident Clare Nowland, who was suffering from symptoms of dementiabehaved erratically.

He shocked Nowland, who was holding a steak knife, with his Taser, police said at the time. She later died in hospital.

The jury found White guilty of Nowland’s manslaughter after nearly a week of deliberation, according to a spokesperson for the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the state where the incident occurred.

He is expected to be sentenced this week. Manslaughter carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years in the state.

State Police Commissioner Karen Webb told a news conference Wednesday that police were reviewing White’s employment after his conviction.

The department revised its policy on the use of Tasers in January and concluded no updates were needed, she added.

“The policy and training are appropriate. The essence of this case is about the application of the use of the equipment,” she said.

The case has sparked outrage in Australia and drawn attention to the use of force by police in the country.

Nowland’s death came the same week that a police officer in the same state was found guilty of assault after an incident involving a 16-year-old boy from the area. Indigenous community in 2020.

State police are currently being sued by hundreds of music fans who claim they were illegally searched by police officers at music festivals across the state between 2016 and 2022.