Two police officers who pepper-sprayed and tasered amputee, 92, in care home cleared of assault

29 May 2025, 07:07

Two police officers who pepper-sprayed and tasered a 92-year-old amputee in a care home have been found not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto denied assaulting Donald Burgess, a single-leg amputee, at Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, on June 21, 2022.

Mr Burgess was taken to hospital after the incident and died 22 days later, having contracted Covid.

The Sussex Police officers were found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday after jurors returned unanimous verdicts.

They found Smith, 51, not guilty of two counts of assault by using Pava spray and a baton, while Comotto was found not guilty of one charge of assault by discharging her Taser.

Following the court's verdict, a IOPC spokesperson confirmed that both officers would face a gross misconduct hearing for potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour relating to use of force, authority, respect and courtesy.

PC Comotto faces a further misconduct allegation relating to comments she later made on social media referring to the incident.

During the trial, the court heard that the care home had called 999 after wheelchair user Mr Burgess had grabbed a serrated cutlery knife and told staff he would take pleasure in murdering them.

Body-worn footage shows elderly man pepper-sprayed and tasered by police responding to a care-home call

When the officers arrived in the pensioners room, PC Smith sprayed synthetic Pava pepper spray into Mr Burgess's face and used his baton to try to knock the knife out of his hand, while PC Comotto deployed her Taser.

The whole exchange finished within a minute and 23 seconds after the officers entered the room, the court was told.

Mr Burgess could be heard in bodycam footage telling the officers: "I'm dying," before he was handcuffed in his wheelchair and taken outside.

Prosecutors said the force used against Mr Burgess was excessive and unnecessary given his age and physical condition.

In a statement given during a police interview and read to the court by prosecutor Paul Jarvis KC, PC Comotto said: "Our objective was clear - it was to disarm Mr Burgess as quickly and safely as possible.

"I do not believe that my use of the Taser was disproportionate. I believe he posed an immediate and significant risk to himself.

"When he asked how many more knives there were, he demonstrated a clear, real-time awareness of the situation.

"This made his continual refusal to drop the knife all the more concerning for me."

PC Comotto said she was "very shocked" to learn of Mr Burgess's age after the incident, as she thought he was much younger.

She said she treated the pensioner with "respect and courtesy" during the whole incident.

"I do not believe in conscience that my use of the taser was disproportionate, excessive or unreasonable - that is my honestly held belief," Comotto added.

"He had a knife in his right hand in a particularly strong grip which ultimately took the combined efforts of two police officers to remove from his grip."

PC Comotto said she had to use "tactical options to disarm him [Mr Burgess] from a distance" after he refused to "relinquish the position of the knife".

In his statement, PC Smith said he was not aware that Mr Burgess was 92 or that he was a wheelchair user at the time.

He said: "I was not aware of these vulnerabilities at the time when I first encountered him, therefore they did not impact my thought process when considering the most appropriate action.

"At that time I was totally focused on the knife in his right hand."

Mr Burgess was taken to hospital after the incident, where he contracted Covid and died 22 days later.

A pathologist determined the officers’ actions did not cause or contribute to his death.

Deputy care home manager Donna Gardner had previously told the court that Mr Burgess' behaviour was "out of character" and that his movements with the knife were "extremely quick".

Judge Christopher Hehir told jurors: "The reason for his behaviour that day, we now know, is that he was delirious as a result of a urinary tract infection."

The case had been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

IOPC Director Emily Barry said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the family of Donald Burgess.

"We know this case – including the police body-worn footage that was released during the trial – has caused understandable concern in the community.

"It was right that the evidence was put before a jury so the officers could be held accountable and we respect the jury’s decision."