An Australian police officer, Kristian White, was found guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday for fatally using a taser on a 95-year-old care home resident.
The officer was called to a care home in Cooma, south of the Australian capital Canberra, in May 2023 after reports of Clare Nowland, suffering from dementia, behaving erratically. White shocked Nowland, who was holding a steak knife, with a taser. She later died in the hospital.
The jury in the supreme court of the Australian state of New South Wales deliberated for nearly a week before delivering the verdict. White faces up to 25 years in prison, with sentencing expected as early as this week.
Kristian White, 34, told the jury that he was taught during training that anyone holding a knife posed a danger, according to The Guardian. However, after an eight-day trial, the jury dismissed his lawyers’ argument that using the taser was a proportionate response to the threat posed by Clare Nowland, who weighed approximately 45 kilograms (100 pounds).
Prosecutors argued that White’s actions were “utterly unnecessary and obviously excessive,” as reported by local news outlets.
State police commissioner Karen Webb said the police force is reviewing White’s employment following his conviction. She added that a January review of Taser use policies found no changes were needed, saying, “The policy and training is appropriate. The substance of this matter is about the application of the use of the equipment.”
The case has sparked public anger in Australia and raised concerns about police use of force. It comes in the same week that another officer in the state was found guilty of assaulting a 16-year-old Indigenous boy in 2020.