Court shown vision of police officer using taser of 95-year-old woman

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Body-cam vision of the moment a 95-year-old woman was tasered at her nursing home has been played to the jury in the trial of a New South Wales police officer accused of manslaughter. Senior Constable Kristian white has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers argue the force he used was not disproportionate to the risk.

Transcript

00:00In a Cooma aged care home last May, police helped paramedics respond to what staff called

00:07an aggressive resident.

00:09Two little knives that she picked up from the kitchen drawer, and then raising them

00:16against the staff head.

00:18It was early in the morning, and 95-year-old Claire Nowland was eventually found in a treatment

00:23room with a knife.

00:24After retrieving it from the kitchen, she'd entered the rooms of other residents.

00:29Is she responding normally?

00:30Yes, she is, but she's known to be an aggressive client.

00:37In the treatment room, police body-worn camera footage played to a jury recorded repeated

00:41warnings, including from senior constable Christian White.

00:45We're not playing this game, Claire.

00:48Claire, put it down now.

00:49We're not wielding knives in here.

00:51She slowly tried to leave the room, and the taser's warning sound buzzed.

00:55See, you keep coming, you're going to get tased.

00:58After more warnings, stop, nah, bugger it.

01:01The video shows the taser being discharged, and Mrs. Nowland falling to the ground.

01:06She died a week later, after suffering an inoperable head injury.

01:10The Crown alleges Christian White's actions amount to manslaughter, either by criminal

01:15negligence or an unlawful or dangerous act.

01:18His defence lawyers argue he had a duty to prevent a breach of the peace, and his actions

01:23were not disproportionate to the risk of harm.

01:26One of the residents said in a statement that it wasn't the first time Claire Nowland had

01:30entered his room.

01:32He said he wasn't scared when he saw a knife, because she wasn't threatening.

01:36Other evidence shown to the jury includes images of her pyjamas, and small holes in

01:41them.

01:42Mrs. Nowland had shown signs of dementia, but was not diagnosed.

01:46The trial is expected to run for up to three weeks.

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