Clare Nowland: Officer who Tasered 95-year-old allegedly said 'bugger it' before firing

The police officer whose decision to Taser a 95-year-old great-grandmother, in Australia, allegedly said "bugger it" moments before firing the weapon at her, court documents have shown.

Clare Nowland died in hospital following the incident at her care home, in Cooma, New South Wales.

Senior Constable Kristian White, 33, has been charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm (GBH), assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault.

Prosecutors have described White's decision to fire his Taser as "a grossly disproportionate response" and "excessive use of force".

His legal team have indicated he will plead not guilty to all charges.

Former New South Wales Detective Peter Moroney told Australia's 7News channel: "Look, I think, like most Australian's, I mean just the mere fact that the reference to 'ah bugger it' and then the Taser's gone off is somewhat of a disregard to I've run out of time, I've run out of patience and I'll deal with this at the extreme end."

In May, police were called to Yallambee Lodge care home in response to reports that Ms Nowland was carrying a serrated steak knife.

The great-grandmother, who had lived at the home for the past five years, was asked to put the knife down by officials, but as she approached the doorway a senior constable with 12 years of experience fired a Taser at her.

Police say her injuries were caused from her falling to the ground rather than directly from the Taser's electric shock, but have refused to release the bodycam footage.

A family friend later told ITV's Good Morning Britain that Ms Nowland might be the "oldest person on the planet" to have ever been Tasered.

Andrew Thaler said the incident is something Ms Nowland's family are "all struggling to put into words", describing it as "outrageous" and "shocking".

He revealed that Ms Nowland, who also had dementia, "lived in service" of her community, running a second-hand thrift shop charity, which gave out food and electricity vouchers in Cooma.

In celebration of both her 80th and 85th birthdays, she had also parachuted out of a plane.

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