Jury mulling verdict for cop who fatally tasered 95yo

A senior constable who fatally tasered a 95-year-old woman with symptoms of dementia is waiting to learn whether a jury finds him guilty of her manslaughter.

Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White discharged his stun gun at Clare Nowland in a treatment room at Yallambee Lodge aged-care home in the southern NSW town of Cooma during the early hours of May 17, 2023.

In video footage played at his NSW Supreme Court trial, the 34-year-old officer was heard saying "nah, bugger it" before shooting the great-grandmother in the torso.

Mrs Nowland, who was holding a steak knife at the time, fell backwards and hit her head before dying a week later in hospital.

Justice Ian Harrison gave his closing remarks to the jury on Wednesday before it retired to consider its verdict.

"Clearly you have very important matters to decide in this case, important not only to Mr White but also to the whole community," the judge said.

During the eight-day trial, crown prosecutors argued White was either criminally negligent or performed an unlawful and dangerous act that caused Mrs Nowland's death.

On Tuesday, prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC called the officer's conduct "utterly unnecessary and obviously dangerous".

"I ask you to hold him responsible for his conduct with a verdict of guilty," he said.

But the officer's defence team claimed that shooting the 95-year-old was a proportionate response to the danger she posed.

Barrister Troy Edwards SC disputed prosecution arguments that Mrs Nowland only posed a very limited threat.

"You might think that, the people there didn't think so," he said.

It was White's job to disarm Mrs Nowland and he did not have the option to just turn on his heels and walk away, Mr Edwards added.