A judge’s decision not to send Kristian White to jail for the manslaughter of Clare Nowland is “a slap on the wrist for someone that’s killed our mother”, according to the 95-year-old’s son.
Justice Ian Harrison handed down his sentencing decision for the former New South Wales police officer in the NSW supreme court on Friday, saying the incident in his opinion “falls in the lower end of objective seriousness” for manslaughter and that time in prison would be a “disproportionate” sentence.
Harrison sentenced White to a two-year community corrections order. The conditions include 425 hours of community service and reporting to a community corrections officer.
White was convicted of manslaughter last year over the death of Nowland, whom he shot with a Taser at an aged care home in the southern NSW town of Cooma in the early hours of 17 May 2023.
White was called to the Yallambee Lodge home after Nowland, who was displaying symptoms of dementia, was found disoriented in the middle of the night, walking around the property carrying a serrated knife.
Nowland, who was frail, weighed just 47kg, and could only move slowly with the aid of a walker, was confronted by White, who ordered her to put the knife down.
When Nowland did not comply, appearing not to understand the instruction, White said “nah, bugger it”, and fired his Taser at her chest, causing her to fall heavily and hit her head. He fired his Taser within three minutes of seeing Nowland at the home, the court heard.
Nowland died a week later in hospital after suffering inoperable bleeding in the brain. She never regained consciousness.
‘Mr White clearly made the wrong choice’
In his reasoning, Harrison called White’s actions an “error of judgment” and a “mistake that in hindsight is hard to comprehend”.
“He deployed his Taser in response to what he perceived to be a threat that in my view never called for such a response. There were several ways he might have dealt with it differently,” Harrison told the court.
“Mr White clearly made the wrong choice.”
Harrison said White’s actions had led to “tragic, avoidable and serious” consequences and acknowledged the family was “struggling to cope with the enormity” of Nowland’s death and the loss of their matriarch.
However, Harrison explained that he deemed a prison sentence for White’s actions “disproportionate” because White does not pose a risk or danger to the community, and does not pose a risk of reoffending.
He also said that the offending occurred within the context of his duties as a police officer, and his access to a Taser was part of that role, therefore the chance of him deploying a Taser in a similar circumstance was “negligible, if not fanciful”.
“His employment has been terminated … he has become an unwelcome member of the Cooma community as a result of what he has done,” Harrison said.
Harrison said White had expressed both remorse and regret in a letter he sent to the family. He also noted earlier in his reasoning that White has been diagnosed with a major depressive disorder and PTSD, and that he had indicated he would move away from Cooma after the court proceedings had finished.
“I have no doubt he regrets what he did and the position in which he now finds himself. It would be remarkable if it were otherwise.”
Harrison had said in November during a sentence hearing that a jail sentence for White was not “inevitable”, noting the “extraordinary range” of sentencing options available to the court: from 25 years’ imprisonment to a non-custodial sentence.
‘Justice and fairness, that’s all we wanted’
White’s sentencing in the half-full 290-seat courtroom was attended by more than 20 of members of Nowland’s extended family.
One of them began to cry shortly after the sentence was handed down and was comforted by other family members.
Outside the court, Nowland’s eldest son, Michael Nowland, spoke briefly on behalf of the family shortly after the sentence was handed down. He said he was still processing the decision.
“Justice and fairness, that’s all we wanted,” he said.
White did not stop to speak to reporters as he exited court and immediately got in the passenger seat of a car waiting for him.
In December, six days after the manslaughter ruling, the NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, announced White had been sacked from the force under the Police Act section 181D, which gives the police commissioner the power to fire an officer if confidence is lost in their suitability.
White has sought to appeal against his sacking, filing a case in the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales.
