Inquest into death of Clare Nowland hears from relatives on final day

Clare Nowland, who had symptoms of dementia, died in Cooma Hospital in 2023 after being tasered. (Supplied: NSW Police) A daughter of Clare Nowland has addressed a Coroners Court on the third and final day of an inquest into the 95-year-old's death. Ms Nowland was tasered by former police officer Kristian White in her aged care home in May 2023, and died a week later. Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan will deliver her findings later in the year. Link copiedShareShare articleOne of Clare Nowland's daughters has appeared before the inquest into the death of the 95-year-old great-grandmother, sharing the distress the family has felt as they process the tragedy. Ms Nowland was a resident at Cooma's Yallambee Lodge aged care home in May 2023, when a staff member called Triple Zero (000) to report that she was wandering the property initially with two knives and entering other residents' rooms. When two paramedics and two police officers arrived at the home, including former senior constable Kristian White, they found Ms Nowland in a room, holding one steak knife against her walker. First responders asked Ms Nowland to drop the knife and not move, but within three minutes, White drew his taser, said 'nah, bugger it' and deployed it. A CCTV image of Kristian White arriving at Yallambee Lodge administration building on May 17, 2023. (Supplied) Ms Nowland fell backwards, hit her head and died in Cooma hospital one week later from her injuries. White was found guilty of manslaughter by a NSW Supreme Court jury in 2024. A coronial inquest in Queanbeyan courthouse this week has explored how aged care staff and first responders deal with dementia patients and the training available to them. Members of Ms Nowland's extended family, including children and grandchildren, attended the three-day inquest, wearing pins with a photo of her inside a heart. Great-grandmother Clare Nowland first moved to Cooma in 1956. (Supplied) On the third and final day of the inquest, one of Ms Nowland's daughters, Jenny Jordan, made a statement to the courtroom. She was visibly emotional before starting her speech, quietly saying, "she's watching us" as her daughter, Kim, stood by her side. "Here we are, three years later, still dealing with the tragic circumstances of mum's death, that was taken in less than three minutes," Ms Jordan said. "The family feel that the officer who made the decision to take out a taser and pull the trigger on the morning of the 17th of May 2023 has shown no remorse or accountability for his actions." She took several breaths and pauses as she described her mother as "adventurous", "bold", "an inspiration" and "in our hearts forever". Clare Nowland with her eight children. (Supplied) Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan then spoke directly to the family members in the courtroom. "Thank you for those beautiful words. Your mother was an extraordinary woman," she said. "What's come through every day in this courtroom is … family was everything to her." Ms O'Sullivan reiterated to the court the purpose of the inquest. "Every single person involved in this inquest has one goal: to try and prevent this from happening to any other elderly person, any other person with dementia and their family," she said. White did not attend the inquest and was not called to give evidence, although he had legal representation. There were several other legal parties present over the three days, representing NSW Police, NSW Ambulance, Respect Aged Care and Snowy Monaro Regional Council. On day one of the inquest, the court heard there would be no dispute about the facts surrounding Ms Nowland's death, and the focus would instead be on systematic issues and recommendations "to prevent a recurrence" of a similar incident in the future. Paramedic Anna Hofner and police officer Jessica Pank, who attended the aged care home with White on that day, both told the court of their surprise at his decision to deploy the taser at Ms Nowland. Day two of the inquest heard from NSW Ambulance and NSW Police representatives who expressed the importance of the first responders to have taken time to formulate a plan. The inquest also heard of the training available to police and paramedics in dealing with people with dementia, as well as expert evidence from geriatricians and dementia trainers. The coroner is expected to share her findings from the inquest later in the year. Copy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesPassengers from hantavirus ship transferred to Australian quarantineTopic:Public Health

Inquest into death of Clare Nowland hears from relatives on final day

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