Key Points
- Prosecutors argued the manslaughter charge put Senior Constable Kristian White at heightened risk of fleeing.
- White will remain on bail while surrendering his passport and will not be permitted to travel overseas.
- It follows the fatal tasering of 95-year-old Clare Nowland, who died on 24 May.
A NSW police officer accused of fatally tasering a 95-year-old grandmother has had his bail conditions varied after facing an upgraded manslaughter charge.
Senior Constable Kristian White, 33, appeared at Cooma Local Court before Magistrate Roger Clisdell on Wednesday for the first mention of the charge related to the death of Clare Nowland.
Crown prosecutor Victoria Garrity argued the manslaughter charge put White at heightened risk of fleeing. "Accused people who face more serious matters do sometimes leave the jurisdiction," she told the court.
White's lawyer Warwick Anderson told the court his client had no intention of fleeing and agreed to the conditions. White will remain on bail while surrendering his passport and will not be permitted to travel overseas.
Nowland's friends and supporters were at the court on Wednesday.
The senior constable is alleged to have used a stun gun on Nowland at an aged care home in the southern NSW town of Cooma in the early hours of 17 May.
Nowland, who weighed 43 kilograms and lived with dementia, was confronted while using a walking frame and holding a steak knife.
She was repeatedly asked by staff, paramedics and police to drop a serrated knife, a NSW Police statement of facts, previously presented to the court, said. She was tasered and fell, hitting her head on the ground.
Nowland was taken to Cooma Hospital, where she later died on 24 May.
White was initially charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault.
In late November, the additional charge of manslaughter was laid after investigators received advice from the Director of Public Prosecution.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, compared to 10 years for recklessly causing grievous bodily harm.
White remains suspended from duty with pay and his case will return to court on 7 February.
