Dramatic moment juror FAINTS during trial of Senior Constable Kristian White after jury watched body-worn footage of Clare Nowland being tasered
The trial of a police officer accused of fatally tasering a 95-year-old woman in a nursing home has been brought to an abrupt halt after a juror fainted during the proceedings.
The trial of a police officer accused of fatally tasering a 95-year-old woman in a nursing home has been brought to an abrupt halt after a juror fainted during the proceedings.
Clare Nowland, 95, was fatally injured in the early hours of May 17 when Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White discharged his Taser at her chest in Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma.
The police officer has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and is fighting the claim during a weeks-long trial in the NSW Supreme Court.
The trial came to a sudden halt around lunchtime on Tuesday when a juror fainted in the jury box, pitching forward onto the floor.
He was attended by court sheriffs before Justice Ian Harrison adjourned the court.
After an hour, an ambulance was seen parked outside the NSW Supreme Courthouse where the juror collapsed.
It came more than an hour after the jury was shown footage from the body cameras worn by Constable White and his colleague when they responded to a call from the nursing home just before 5am.
The videos show Mrs Nowland sitting in her pyjamas in a room at a desk with her four-wheel walking frame and holding a knife.
Clare Nowland, 95, was fatally injured in the early hours of May 17 when Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White (pictured) discharged his Taser at her chest
Clare Nowland, 95, died in May 2023 after she was tasered in a nursing home
The two police officers are gathered at the doorway with two paramedics, all of whom are urging Mrs Nowland to stay seated and put down the knife.
In the footage, Mrs Nowland struggles to get to her feet with the help of her walking frame and lifts the knife when someone steps towards her.
Were not playing that game Clare, put that down, Constable White tells her.
Clare, stop now. You see this? Its a Taser.
Constable White can be heard activating the Tasers warning device and the light beam blares at Mrs Nowland in the video.
You keep coming, youre going to get tased, he told her.
Constable White asks Mrs Nowland repeatedly to stop as the nonagenarian continues to amble slowly towards them with both hands on her walker.
Stop. Nah, just .. bugger it, the police officer said before deploying his Taser at her chest.
The frail womans body wobbled and pitched forward before lurching backwards and slamming against the floor.
Mrs Nowlands daughter Lesley Lloyd (right) is pictured leaving the court after giving evidence
Mrs Lloyd is pictured arriving to court along with her siblings and supporters on Tuesday
Constable White was supported by his wife in court on Tuesday (both are pictured)
The court was told during the opening statements that she sustained serious injuries that caused her death days later.
Gasps could be heard throughout the courtroom when the great-grandmother fell to the floor in the graphic footage, and a number of her family members wiped away tears.
Constable Whites body-worn footage shows the 95-year-old clutching her head as she lays on the ground, barely moving.
Both officers rushed forward as Mrs Nowland lay on the ground, with Constable White keeping an arm on the womans shoulder.
I didnt expect it to be like that, his colleague said as they stood over the elderly woman.
I was thinking I could just grab it, but it was a bit too sharp and it was pointed at me.
Id prefer not to have to... Constable White replied.
The confrontation lasted three minutes and will form the basis of the trial, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC told the court on Monday.
In his opening statement on Monday, he argued Constable Whites conduct amounted to manslaughter because he breached his duty of care and exposed Mrs Nowland to serious risk.
The Crown prosecutor said he expected evidence would be given about a conversation Constable White allegedly had with a colleague after the incident.
A photo of two steak knives and a pen light at the Yallambee Lodge aged-care home in the southern NSW town of Cooma has been tendered as evidence
Ive had a look and supposedly we arent meant to tase elderly people, but in this circumstance I needed to, he is alleged to have said.
Constable Whites lawyer Troy Edwards SC claimed his client acted in accordance with his duties as a police officer to stop the threat and counteract the risk Mrs Nowland posed to herself and others while holding a knife.
In a written incident report on the day, he said the police officer recorded that he deployed his police-issued Taser because he felt a violent confrontation was imminent.
The court was told the 34-year-old had been made aware of a previous violent incident involving Mrs Nowland when he responded to the call.
Mrs Nowland suffered from symptoms of dementia but had not been formally diagnosed, the jury was told on Monday.
In the two hours prior to the deadly incident, the court was told the great-grandmother had been wandering around the nursing home holding two knives. She threw one of the knives at a staff member, but it landed on the floor.
The incident prompted a nurse to call triple-0, which dispatched an ambulance and notified police because of the involvement of a knife.
Mrs Nowland is survived by eight children, 24 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.
