A police officer who illegally killed a nursing home resident with dementia by shooting her with a Taser could be jailed a day after a jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Police Constable Kristian James Samuel White discharged his stun gun at Clare Nowland in a treatment room at the Yallambee Lodge nursing home in the southern New South Wales town of Cooma during the early hours of May 17 of 2023.
In a video played at his trial in the New South Wales Supreme Court, White was heard saying “fuck no” 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 still works for the police, who are undergoing a review of his employment.
When the jury returned its guilty verdict Wednesday, he remained silent, closing his eyes and bowing his head.
Crown prosecutors immediately made an application to detain the 34-year-old, but Judge Ian Harrison adjourned the hearing until Thursday.
He said he would need evidence about the conditions White would face in prison given that he was a police officer.
Police constable Kristian White (pictured) faces 25 years behind bars after being found guilty of the manslaughter of Clare Nowland at her rural NSW nursing home on Wednesday.
Mrs Nowland (pictured), who was holding a steak knife when the officer shot her with a stun gun, fell backwards and hit her head before dying a week later in hospital.
Officers are often housed away from other inmates as they may be targets of criminals who have also been locked up behind bars.
On Wednesday, defense lawyer 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 prison sentence of 25 years.