Police officers who pepper-sprayed and tasered 92-year-old amputee in care home cleared of assault

Two police officers who pepper-sprayed and tasered a 92-year-old disabled man at a care home have been cleared of assault.

Sussex police officers PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto went on trial in London over the incident involving Donald Burgess, a single-leg amputee and wheelchair user.

The officers were accused of using excessive force on Mr Burgess during a confrontation at Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, on 21 June 2022. The pair had denied the charges.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court found 51-year-old Smith not guilty of two counts of assault for using Pava spray and a baton.

Comotto, 36, was found not guilty of one count of assault for deploying her Taser.

The care home had called emergency services after Mr Burgess reportedly threatened to stab staff with a knife he was given to cut his food.

Within less than a minute and a half of going into Mr Burgess’s room, Smith sprayed synthetic Pava pepper spray into the pensioner’s face and used his baton to try and knock the knife out of his hand, while Comotto deployed her Taser.

The court heard both Smith and Comotto repeatedly asked Mr Burgess to drop the knife, with Smith warning him: “Put the knife down mate, or you will be sprayed or tasered. That’s up to you.”

Smith then discharged the spray directly into Mr Burgess’s face, bodycam footage played to the jury showed.

Mr Burgess raised the knife a couple of times as Smith used his baton to try and get the knife out of his hand. When that failed, Comotto deployed her Taser.

What did the defendants say in court?

Smith previously told jurors he did not see that the pensioner was disabled and using a wheelchair until after the incident, as he was focused on the knife.

In his evidence, Smith also denied hitting Mr Burgess with a baton, claiming he flicked it towards the pensioner’s wrist to “knock the knife out” of his hand.

Meanwhile, Comotto said she believed using the Taser was the safest way to “protect” Mr Burgess as she feared her colleague using the baton again would cause more harm.

Care home manager Steve Cooper previously told the court that workers had been under threat from Mr Burgess for more than 30 minutes before they decided to phone 999.

‘He wasn’t the Donald I knew’

Mr Cooper said: “He was very aggressive and threatening to hurt my members of staff. He had a look in his eyes I’ve never seen before – he wasn’t the Donald I knew.”

Mr Burgess jabbed the knife towards the manager and told him: “I’m going to murder you, and I’ll enjoy it,” according to Mr Cooper.

Mr Burgess’s knife movements were described as “extremely quick” by deputy care home manager Donna Gardner, the court earlier heard.

The pensioner had a urinary tract infection

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

Following the incident, Mr Burgess was taken to hospital and he later got COVID-19. He died about three weeks after that.

The jurors took around two hours to reach their verdicts on the two officers.

Both officers will face proceedings for gross misconduct, Assistant Chief Constable Paul Court, from Sussex Police, said in a statement.

He said: “Police officers can find themselves in challenging and unpredictable situations where they must make split-second decisions to keep the public safe, and to do so with measure, compassion and skill.

“We support them to do this and this is what our communities expect.

“Use of force must be reasonable, necessary and proportionate and officers know they will be held accountable every time.

“The officers in this case have been held accountable to a criminal threshold and we respect the jury’s decision.

“While this concludes the criminal investigation, both officers will now face gross misconduct proceedings.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said that both officers should face a gross misconduct hearing for potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour relating to use of force, and authority, respect and courtesy.

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