The grieving daughter of a 95-year-old woman who died after being Tasered by a police officer has shared the last words she said to her mother following the conviction of her killer.
Police constable Kristian White was found guilty on Wednesday of manslaughter following the death of Clare Nowland, an elderly woman with dementia, at her nursing home in Cooma, in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, in May 2023.
Nowland’s daughter Kerrie Paske broke down in tears outside the New South Wales Supreme Court after the jury handed down its verdict.
It is the first time he has spoken publicly since his mother died 18 months ago.
She recalled sitting next to her mother’s bed in the hospital after receiving the Taser.
“Right at the end I told her how much I loved her and thanked her for a beautiful life,” Paske said. A current issue.
“Very quickly after that she left.”
Paske is one of Nowland’s eight children. He said the jury’s verdict was “good news” for all of them.
Clare Nowland’s daughter Kerrie Paske (right) recalled that in her mother’s final moments “I told her how much I loved her and I thanked her for a beautiful life.”
Police officer Kristian White was found guilty Wednesday of manslaughter after Tasering Clare Nowland (pictured left with her granddaughter Kylie).
‘We all think we have the best mother, she was a good mother. “She was a tough woman,” Paske said.
“She didn’t deserve that, she really didn’t.”
While Ms Nowland’s family have remained silent since her death 18 months ago, they were quietly concerned that their mother’s memory would be tarnished due to the fact that she was holding a knife during the confrontation with police.
“At the beginning of this whole court case, they were painting a real picture of Mom being a really vicious lady, or that’s how I felt,” Ms. Paske said.
‘That worried me a little, but she’s just not like that.
‘It’s all very well mentioning this knife, but she used to obsess over things. They used to be pens.
“When we first heard about (the confrontation), I thought, ‘I bet he thought he had a pen in his hand,’ but he didn’t.”
Mrs Nowland is survived by eight children, 24 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren, many of whom made the 400 kilometer journey from Cooma to sit in the public gallery throughout the trial.
Audible gasps and sobs could be heard coming from the public gallery where Mrs Nowland’s loved ones were gathered as the verdict was read.‘
Leaving the court, one of Mrs Nowland’s relatives said she was “very happy” with the outcome.
One man clapped another on the shoulder in an apparent show of solidarity after the verdict was announced.
His attorney issued a statement on behalf of the family outside of court.
“The family would like to thank the judge and jury for carefully considering the matter and the Public Prosecutor’s Office prosecution team for their hard work,” the statement read.
“It will take some time for the family to accept the jury’s confirmation that Clare’s death at the hands of a serving NSW police officer was a criminal and unjustified act.”
Police officer Kristian White (pictured leaving court on Wednesday) has been found guilty of the manslaughter of 95-year-old Clare Nowland after the jury deliberated for four days.
Officer White’s employment is “under review” following the guilty verdict.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the officers had been suspended with pay throughout the process, but that situation was now under review.
‘The officer’s employment is currently under review. I look forward to considering that matter next week,” Ms Webb told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.
He had not spoken to the officer after the verdict and said it would be inappropriate for him to do so.
He indicated that he intended to contact the Nowland family.
“The death of Clare Nowland is a terrible tragedy and my deepest condolences go out to the Nowland family,” Commissioner Webb said.
“This should never have happened.”
Nowland died from injuries sustained when Constable White fired the gun into his chest at the Yallambee Lodge nursing home on May 17 last year.
Officer White (pictured) lowered his head and kept his eyes down as the verdict was pronounced.
The jury heard the 34-year-old woman issued several warnings as she approached him with both hands on her walker and holding a knife, before he said “fuck” and shot her.
Mrs Nowland fell backwards and hit her head on the ground, suffering serious injuries.
After four days of deliberations, a New South Wales Supreme Court jury found Constable White guilty of unlawfully killing Ms Nowland, whether by criminal negligence or by a criminal or dangerous act.
He faces up to 25 years behind bars, but was allowed to walk free from court ahead of his sentencing later this year.
Judge Ian Harrison said he needed more information before jailing White, adding: “So that there is no secret about it, I will not take any police officer into custody until he understands the conditions under which he will be held, if he is to be held.” be retained.” .’
Clare Nowland, a 95-year-old great-grandmother, died a week after being hit by Officer White’s Taser at the Yallambee Lodge nursing home.
Agent White lowered his head and kept his eyes down. He was frowning but otherwise kept his face blank.
His fiancée supported him as he left the court and got into a waiting car.
The Crown requested that Constable White be detained following the verdict, but Judge Ian Harrison said he needed more information about the proposed detention conditions.
“Lest there be any secrecy about it, I will not take any police officer into custody until he understands the conditions under which he will be detained, if at all,” Judge Harrison said.
Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC convinced the jury that Constable White breached the duty of care he owed the great-grandmother because his actions “involved such a high risk that (she) would suffer really serious bodily harm”.
Hatfield argued that the Taser discharge was a disproportionate response to the situation, given the great-grandmother’s advanced age, frailty, lack of mobility and symptoms of dementia.
Ms Nowland was captured on CCTV moments before she was shot with a Taser.
Mrs Nowland was holding one of the steak knives pictured when she was Tasered. He fell backwards and hit his head during the incident and died in hospital a week later.
“This was such a completely unnecessary and obviously excessive use of force against Ms. Nowland that she deserves a punishment for involuntary manslaughter,” he told jurors during his closing statement Tuesday.
In returning a guilty verdict, the jury rejected the defense put forward by Constable White’s lawyer, Troy Edwards SC, that the response was proportionate to the threat posed by Mrs Nowland carrying a knife.
He maintained that Officer White’s decision to use his Taser was consistent with his duty as a police officer to protect others and prevent a breach of the peace.
Constable White and Acting Sergeant Jessica Pank were called to Yallambee Lodge to respond to a triple-0 call for assistance with a “very aggressive resident” holding two knives.
The court heard that Mrs Nowland entered the rooms of four residents before her arrival, shortly before 5am, and threw a knife at one of the nursing home staff.
“It is not true that the defendant could have turned around… It was his job to get a resolution,” Edwards said in his closing statement Tuesday.
“He had to take it apart.”
Lesley Lloyd, Clare Nowland’s daughter, is seen leaving the court after Wednesday’s verdict.
Constable White is shown arriving at the NSW Supreme Court with his fiancée last week.
Mr. Hatfield dismissed the defense and told jurors they could take Officer White’s words “fuck it” as showing he was “fed up, impatient, not willing to wait any longer.”
Officer White’s interaction with Ms. Nowland lasted less than three minutes, one of which was spent pointing a Taser at her before pulling the trigger.
The jury heard that the great-grandmother had difficulty following instructions and became unusually aggressive before her death, which a geriatrician attributed to her undiagnosed dementia.
He weighed less than 48kg and relied on his walker to get around the nursing home, the court was told.