- Christian James Samuel White, an Australian police officer, has been found guilty of manslaughter for shocking a 95-year-old nursing home resident with a Taser.
- A jury in Sydney deliberated for 20 hours before reaching its verdict on Wednesday.
- White, who is out on bail, faces up to 25 years in prison when he is later sentenced.
A police officer who tasered a 95-year-old nursing home resident has been found guilty of murder In an Australian court Wednesday.
A jury found Christian James Samuel White guilty in the Sydney trial after 20 hours of deliberation. White, who is out on bail, could face up to 25 years in prison at a later sentencing.
Claire Noland, a great-grandmother with dementia who uses a walker, was refusing to put down a steak knife when the officer discharged his Taser at her in May 2023. In the hospital
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The police said That’s when Noland suffered fatal injuries, directly from the device’s weak electric shock, hitting his head on the floor.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb told reporters after the verdict that White’s employment was being reviewed and was subject to legal action.
“The court has found that Claire Noland died as a result of the actions of a police officer. This should never have happened,” Webb said, as he offered his “deepest condolences” to Noland’s family. He added that state police reviewed their Taser policy and training in January and no changes have been made.
In video footage played during the New South Wales Supreme Court trial, White is heard saying “no, bugger it” before dropping the weapon after officers told Noland to put the knife down 21 times. White, 34, told the jury he had been taught that anyone who wielded a knife was dangerous, the Guardian reported.
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But After an eight-day trialthe jury rejected White’s attorneys’ arguments that his use of the Taser was a proportionate response to the threat posed by Noland, who weighs about 100 pounds. It was a pound.
Local news outlets said the prosecutor argued White’s use of the Taser was “totally unnecessary and clearly excessive.”
The unusual case sparked a debate over how officers in the state use Tasers, a device that is incapable of using electricity.
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Noland, a resident of Yalambi Lodge, a nursing home in the town of Cooma, is survived by eight children, 24 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.