Save articles for later
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.
A magistrate has launched a tirade against the state prosecutor’s office after the police officer accused of Tasering great-grandmother Clare Nowland did not appear in person, blindsiding the court that had arranged significant security.
Magistrate Roger Clisdell also suppressed the names of witnesses to the alleged Tasering at an aged-care facility in Cooma after threats were allegedly made against them.
Clisdell said he was disgusted with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions after they emailed the court on Wednesday morning that Senior Constable Kristian White would be appearing before court via videolink rather than in person.
Clare Nowland (inset) died a week after allegedly being Tasered by Senior Constable Kristian White in Cooma.
“Who runs the court … you or me?” Clisdell asked prosecutor Sally Stuart. “Dumbo here sitting on the bench just has to suck it up .. I am not happy, in future I will determine who will appear via AVL, not the DPP, is that clear?”
Senior Constable Kristian White.Credit: Nine News
Stuart applied for White, who is free in the community but not on bail, to be ordered to appear before court on the next occasion, but Clisdell dismissed the application outright, saying if the ODPP “can’t be bothered to get him to court, why should I [set that condition]?”
“You excused him today, so why should I put him at your beck and call and not mine?” he said, dismissing the application as an attempt by prosecutors to placate “some media person” upset by the fact White wasn’t on bail.
Stuart said that was something that should have probably been considered by police at the time of White’s charging.
Clisdell said the court had gone to considerable expense arranging security for the appearance, with several police officers checking bags outside.
White, who also appeared briefly via videolink, was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault after allegedly Tasering the great-grandmother at the Yallambee Lodge aged-care facility in May.
Nowland, who suffered from dementia, died in Cooma Hospital on May 24, a week after the fatal incident during which she held a steak knife before White, 33, allegedly deployed his Taser on her once at the nursing home in the early hours of May 17. She fell to the ground and hit her head.
He allegedly said “bugger it” after repeatedly asking the 95-year-old to drop the knife, sources with knowledge of the incident but who are unable to speak publicly have said.
Nowland was asked to stop and drop the knife before she moved towards White’s female partner and raised the implement. White allegedly said the two words around the same time he deployed the Taser. Senior police have described footage of the incident captured on body-worn cameras as “confronting”.
The ODPP applied for a non-publication order over the names of witnesses to the incident. Clisdell was also critical of police providing him redacted information to support the application, saying that appeared he wasn’t “trustworthy”. Stuart said the information had likely been redacted for public immunity reasons.
He said he couldn’t determine how “serious the threats are, because the relevant bits were redacted”, however he said he was satisfied it was appropriate for the protection of the witnesses to make the order.
The senior constable’s lawyer, Warwick Anderson, previously said that White was extremely upset. “He is very distressed, he is concerned not only for his own welfare but the welfare of all people involved in this matter,” Anderson said in May.
Nowland was farewelled by hundreds at a church funeral in Cooma last month. She was remembered as a long-standing community volunteer, talented golfer and thrill seeker who skydived to mark her later years.
“If we were to use one word to sum up Mum, it would be caring,” her son Michael Nowland said during the eulogy.
NSW Police sparked controversy earlier this month when it was revealed senior officers covered up the alleged Tasering of Nowland by White, deleting crucial details from a public statement about the incident.
Internal emails obtained by the Herald under freedom of information laws reveal the original draft media release sent for approval on the day the Tasering occurred contained detailed information about what allegedly happened at Yallambee Lodge.
The matter will return to court on September 6, when White has been excused from attending and both his lawyer and the prosecution will appear via video.
Nowland’s granddaughter Kylie Peske was at the back of the court and left hurriedly following the brief hearing, appearing upset.
Shortly after the hearing, Kiama woman Marie Twist left the courthouse wearing a placard that said “Hope your grandma’s proud of you coward”.
Twist, who had no relation to the family, said the incident “touched me really deeply and that’s why I thought I was coming today”.
“I don’t know how I feel, it’s just terrible,” she said.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
Most Viewed in Politics
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article
