Tasered gran’s lawsuit against NSW govt not proceeding
Clare Nowland's family has discontinued civil proceedings against the state government. Photo: AAP/Supplied
A civil claim against the state of NSW from the family of a 95-year-old woman who died after being tasered in a nursing home will not proceed further.
The matter ended in February and a conference in March has been vacated because the claim was discontinued or withdrawn.
Senior Constable Kristian White is due to be arraigned on criminal charges including manslaughter in April after tasering Clare Nowland in an aged care home at Cooma in southern NSW in May.
Nowland was repeatedly asked to drop the serrated knife she was holding before she was tasered, but she said “no” or did not respond, court documents from the criminal proceedings say.
White confronted her with his Taser drawn and told her to stop moving before allegedly saying “nah bugger it” and firing the weapon.
Police allege White’s actions were “grossly disproportionate” and constituted an excessive use of force considering the woman’s age and frailty.
She spent a week in hospital with critical injuries including a fractured skull before she died.
AAP has contacted lawyers for Nowland’s family for comment.
– AAP