The police officer who hit an elderly woman with a fatal Taser shot faces the prospect of being held in protective custody to shield him from danger after he was found guilty of her unlawful killing.
Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White discharged his stun gun at 95-year-old 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, the 34-year-old officer was heard saying "nah, bugger it" before shooting the great-grandmother in the torso.
Mrs Nowland, who was holding a steak knife and had symptoms of dementia, fell backwards and hit her head, dying a week later in hospital.
On Thursday, Justice Ian Harrison heard an application by crown prosecutors that White be placed behind bars one day after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter.
He noted he had not come across a similar case during his 18 years as a Supreme Court judge.
"Most cases that come to me in the criminal sphere involve the commission of offences that are associated with some form of intent," Justice Harrison said.
"That intent is nearly always coupled with one or other of emotions such as greed or punishment or revenge or passion."
White's actions came because he failed to consider the realities of what was going on at the time, the judge said.
"They weren’t associated with an intention to cause harm or serious injury, even though that was the outcome,” Justice Harrison said.
White would be assessed for risks to his safety if held in custody ahead of his sentence, NSW Justice Department official Jeremy Tucker wrote to the court.
"Due to his occupation as a serving police officer, (NSW Corrective Services) considers that Mr White will require special management in custody," he said.
"I can advise that Mr White will be placed in protective custody."
During the hearing, defence barrister Troy Edwards SC argued a jail sentence for the 34-year-old officer was not inevitable.
“A sentence of full-time imprisonment is not a certainty as a consequence of the nature of the type of charge," he said.
White met the criteria for the discharge of the Taser, which meant the objective seriousness of the offence was at the lower end, Mr Edwards said.
Mr Edwards acknowledged the officer did not consider the exceptional circumstances test, which dictated when a Taser could be fired by police at certain groups such as the elderly or disabled.
He said White was only told of this rule on one slide during training completed several years before the incident.
Prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC said the jury, through its verdict, had found White's use of force was not reasonably necessary.
"And having regard to the nature of the offence that a full-time custodial sentence is realistically inevitable,” he said.
Justice Harrison will hand down his decision on Friday, telling the court he did not want to rush his judgment.
"These are weighty matters and I want to consider them in detail," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, NSW Police confirmed the senior constable had been notified he had been suspended without pay after Wednesday's verdict.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb was also in the process of going through procedures set out under legislation to remove White from the force.
They include giving him at least 21 days to make submissions in response to the planned action.
A sentence hearing is expected to be held in February.
The charge of manslaughter carries a maximum jail term of 25 years.
