Sussex police officers cleared of assault against one-legged 92-year-old man

The Guardian

28-05-2025

Two police officers who used a Taser and synthetic pepper spray on a one-legged 92-year-old man in a care home have been cleared of assault but will now face gross misconduct hearings.
PC Stephen Smith, 51, and PC Rachel Comotto, 36, were found not guilty of assaulting Donald Burgess during a confrontation at Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, in June 2022.
Jurors returned their unanimous verdicts at Southwark crown court after around two hours of deliberations on Wednesday.
Speaking outside court afterwards, Sussex police's assistant chief constable, Paul Court, said the officers will face gross misconduct proceedings.
'I recognise and understand the impact that this case has had on public confidence. It is with profound regret this happened,' Court said. '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.'
Jurors found Smith not guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm for his use of Pava spray and for using a baton, while Comotto was found not guilty of one count for deploying her Taser.
The care home called 999 after Burgess, a single-leg amputee and wheelchair user, reportedly grabbed a knife he was given to cut his food and threatened to stab staff.
The court previously heard this was 'out of character' for Burgess. 'The reason for his behaviour that day, we now know, is that he was delirious as a result of a urinary tract infection,' Judge Hehir told jurors.
Smith sprayed synthetic Pava pepper spray into Burgess's face and used his baton to try to knock the knife out of Burgess's hand, with Comotto deploying her Taser, all within a minute and 23 seconds of entering the pensioner's room, the court heard.
Burgess was taken to hospital after the incident and later contracted Covid, dying 22 days later aged 93.
The court heard both Smith and Comotto repeatedly asked Burgess to drop the knife. Smith told jurors he did not see that Burgess was disabled and using a wheelchair until after the incident as he was focused on the knife the pensioner was holding in his hand. He added he believed Burgess 'could clearly understand what we were saying to him'.
Comotto said she believed using the Taser was the safest way to 'protect' Burgess as she feared her colleague using the baton again would cause more harm. 'I'm not a trigger-happy officer,' she told the court. 'It's the first time I've fired my Taser.'
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it would liaise with Sussex police about the misconduct hearings now criminal proceedings are over.
It said 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, with Comotto facing a further misconduct allegation relating to comments she made on social media after the incident.