Disciplinary Proceedings Opened Against Officers Who Used Taser, Pepper Spray and Baton on Vulnerable Pensioner
Two Sussex Police officers who deployed a baton, pepper spray and a Taser against a 92-year-old amputee with dementia sitting in a wheelchair “acted hastily, harshly and lost control,” a disciplinary panel heard on Monday. PC Stephen Smith, 52, and PC Rachel Comotto, 37, appeared before the hearing to answer allegations of excessive force against Donald Burgess, a retired carpenter and widower who was holding a small dinner knife in his room at a care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. Mr Burgess was handcuffed, transported to a police station and later transferred to hospital, where he died 22 days after the June 2022 incident. Both officers face dismissal from the force if the allegations are proven.
Aaron Rathmell, counsel for Sussex Police, told the panel that the officers had been called to Park Beck Care Home following reports that an elderly man was threatening staff with a knife. On arrival, they found Mr Burgess isolated in his own room, seated in his wheelchair, and monitored by two care home staff members. The situation, as described to the panel, presented no immediate physical threat: Mr Burgess had not moved toward either officer, had remained largely silent and appeared confused throughout the encounter.
A Sequence of Force Applied Within Minutes
According to Rathmell’s account to the panel, PC Smith addressed Mr Burgess within moments of entering the room, warning him he would be sprayed or Tasered if he did not put the knife down. When Mr Burgess did not comply, PC Smith discharged pepper spray directly into the pensioner’s face. When that failed to dislodge the knife, the officer struck Mr Burgess repeatedly on the arm with a police baton. Seconds later, PC Comotto fired her Taser, striking him in the chest. The entire sequence unfolded in rapid succession, with Rathmell noting that at no stage had either officer attempted to de-escalate the confrontation or consulted care home staff about Mr Burgess’s medical condition or cognitive state.
Rathmell told PC Smith directly: “At no point before the use of the baton or spray did you speak with staff and get a diagnosis or ask whether he was vulnerable. You used PAVA spray when you had been in the room less than one minute. He had not moved towards you and had not posed a threat to you.” He further stated that the officers had failed to consider withdrawing from the room to allow Mr Burgess to calm down — an option that, given his condition, could have resolved the situation without any use of force. “He posed no credible threat to you or anybody else,” Rathmell said. “The force was not necessary or proportionate in the circumstances.”
The panel also heard that following the use of force, Mr Burgess was placed in handcuffs — a decision Rathmell described as having “no justification” — before being driven to a police station. His condition deteriorated on arrival, and he was transferred to hospital. He subsequently contracted Covid and died 22 days later following a cardiac arrest. The hearing was explicitly told that it was not alleged in these proceedings that the officers’ actions directly caused his death.
Facebook Post Compounds Allegations Against PC Comotto
PC Comotto faces an additional allegation relating to her conduct on social media on the same day as the incident. The panel heard that after a colleague posted a birthday message on Facebook referencing care homes, Comotto replied: “We all know what happens in care homes,” accompanied by a lightning bolt emoji. Rathmell told the panel this was a reference to the Taser she had deployed on Mr Burgess earlier that day. He described the comment as “inappropriate and unprofessional,” stating that Comotto had “made light of the actions” taken against a vulnerable man in his final weeks of life.
Both officers were acquitted of criminal assault charges following a trial at Southwark Crown Court last year. Sussex Police voluntarily referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after the incident. Mr Burgess’s family described him as having lived a “blameless life,” devoted to his late wife Ethel, whose death had preceded his own health decline — including the diabetes that led to his leg amputation and his move into residential care. The disciplinary tribunal is continuing.