Key Points
- A police officer accused of tasering a 95-year-old woman was due to appear in person before court today.
- Prosecutors were criticised for allowing the officer to appear by video link.
- A bail application for the officer has been rejected
A magistrate has berated prosecutors for allowing the police officer accused of tasering a 95-year-old grandmother not to appear in person before court.
Senior Constable Kristian White appeared before Cooma Court Local Court via video link on Wednesday over the tasering of great-grandmother Clare Nowland, who later died from injuries sustained in the incident.
The 33-year-old has been charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault.
A plea has not been entered on any of the charges.
'Dumbo sitting on the bench here...'
Magistrate Roger Clisdell chastised the Director of Public Prosecutions for allowing the accused to not appear in person.
The magistrate noted money had been spent on extra security in preparation for the matter being heard in court, saying he was disgusted.
"We've got a court full of security, at great expense, and the DPP decided he would appear via (video link)," he told the court.
"Who runs the court, (the DPP) or me?
"Dumbo sitting on the bench here has to suck it up ... I am not happy."
Bail application rejected
The DPP had applied for bail for White, with conditions that would require him to appear in person for future hearings.
White's lawyers said he did not present a flight risk and had no risk of reoffending.
However, Clisdell threw out the bail application.
"(The DPP) excused him today, so why should I put him at your beck and call and not mine?" he said.
It's alleged White tasered Nowland at the Yallambee Lodge aged care home in Cooma in May, after being called out to the centre.
Nowland, who was holding a steak knife while using a walking frame, was allegedly tasered after she failed to drop the knife.
The 95-year-old then fell to the ground, hit her head and suffered a fractured skull. She died at Cooma Base Hospital a week later.
White was suspended from NSW Police with pay following the incident.
The most serious of the charges he faces, recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Following Nowland's death, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said upgrading the charges was a possibility.
The matter will return to court on 6 September.
