A former NSW Police officer found guilty of manslaughter for using a taser on a great-grandmother will not spend any time behind bars. Her family says the punishment handed Kristian White, is ‘a slap on the wrist’.
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00:00Christian White's use of a taser led to the death of 95-year-old Claire Nowland.
00:07Do you deserve to go to jail for your actions?
00:10Today he learned he won't.
00:12A jury found him guilty of manslaughter last year.
00:15Mrs. Nowland died a week after the incident in May 2023.
00:19She had a knife at the time and was slowly moving on her walker towards police and paramedics.
00:25A judge found White completely misread and misunderstood the dynamics of the situation.
00:31Mr. White made what by any measure was a terrible mistake.
00:35For reasons that may never clearly be understood, if understood at all,
00:39he deployed his taser in response to what he perceived to be a threat that, in my view, never called for such a response.
00:46Before he shot his taser, White said,
00:49which the judge said suggested a loss of patience.
00:53The court found this crime falls at the lower end of objective seriousness.
00:57The former officer will complete 425 hours of community service during a two-year community correction order.
01:05A slap on the wrist for someone that's killed our mother.
01:09It's very, very hard to sort of process that.
01:14Is community service sufficient for taking someone's life?
01:18Christian White showed no reaction as he stood to learn he will not spend any time in prison.
01:24Behind him, his partner covered her mouth with her hands and started to cry.
01:28Mr. White and his family are very relieved at this.
01:31They haven't lost sight of the tragedy that Mrs. Nowland
01:34and their thoughts are very much inside after the result with the Nowland family.
01:39The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions can appeal and says it will consider the sentence.