Cop who tasered Clare Nowland is suspended from the force without pay

A police officer who unlawfully killed an aged-care resident with dementia by shooting her with a Taser has been suspended from the NSW Police force without pay after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter.

NSW Police confirmed Senior Constable Kristian White had been suspended without pay in a statement on Thursday. 

'Following the verdict in the Supreme Court, a 34-year old officer attached to Monaro Police District was notified on Wednesday he has been suspended from the NSW Police Force without pay,' it read. 

'Regarding the officer’s position in the NSW Police Force, the NSW Police Commissioner is following the procedure mandated under the Police Act 1990.'

It comes just hours after NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said White's employment was 'under review' during a press conference. 

'The officer's employment is currently under review. I expect to consider that matter next week,' Ms Webb told a press conference on Wednesday.

The police commissioner said she had not spoken to the constable following the verdict and said it would be inappropriate for her to do so.

'The death of Clare Nowland is a terrible tragedy and my deepest condolences go to the Nowland family,' she said.

'This should never have happened.'

The senior constable discharged his stun gun at Clare Nowland in a treatment room at Yallambee Lodge aged-care home in the southern NSW town of Cooma during the early hours of May 17, 2023.

In video footage played at his NSW Supreme Court trial, White was heard saying 'nah, bugger it' 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.

As the jury delivered its guilty verdict on Wednesday, he stood silent, closing his eyes and bowing his head.

Crown prosecutors immediately made an application to detain the 34-year-old in custody but Justice Ian Harrison postponed the hearing until Thursday.

He said he would need evidence about the conditions that White would face in prison given he was a police officer.

Officers are typically housed away from other inmates as they can be targets for criminals who have also been locked away behind bars. 

On Wednesday, defence barrister 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 jail term of 25 years.