Police Tasered 92-year-old one-legged care home resident, court told

Times

20-05-2025

A 92-year-old wheelchair-bound care home resident was sprayed in the face with pepper spray before being Tasered and hit with a baton by police officers, a jury has been told.
PC Stephen Smith emptied almost a full can of pepper spray into Donald Burgess's face when he refused to stop holding a small, serrated cutlery knife, Southwark crown court heard.
Burgess, who had one leg, was then Tasered by PC Rachel Comotto, police body-worn camera footage showed.
He was taken to hospital after the incident and later contracted Covid and died 22 days later.
Smith, 51, denies two counts of assault by using Pava spray and a baton, and Comotto denies one charge of assault by discharging her Taser. They are not being held responsible for Burgess's death.
Burgess was a resident at a care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, when staff called police in June 2022 after they failed to persuade him to hand over a knife, which had a specially adapted handle.
Paul Jarvis KC, for the prosecution, told the jury that the officers made no attempt to talk to staff, and instead approached Burgess and attempted to interact with him. Instead of trying to calm the situation down, they inflamed it, and the use of force was not justified and was unlawful, Jarvis said.
The jury was told there was nobody within arm's reach of Burgess at the time and that it was clear he was not easily able to move.
'It ought to have been obvious by the fact he had one leg; that this was a man who wasn't going to be mobile,' Jarvis said. 'This was an elderly, vulnerable man who may not have understood what was going on.
'Rather than being met with understanding and sympathy, he was confronted by irritation and annoyance on the part of the defendants.'
The resident was asked repeatedly to put down the knife. He was suffering from a urinary tract infection on the day of the incident, a condition that can make people confused.
The jury was told that the resident was asked to give back the knife after he had been flicking his food and poked a member of staff in the stomach with it. Managers at the home had spent half an hour asking him to put it down.
Burgess, who suffered from multiple health conditions including diabetes and carotid artery disease, had been a resident at the home since 2018. He had not been diagnosed with dementia, although the care home specialised in helping people with the illness.
The court was told less than 90 seconds had elapsed between the time the officers arrived and Burgess being Tasered.
Footage shows the officers asking him to put down the knife. When he did not move, Smith sprayed him with Pava, before using his baton and 12 seconds later, Burgess could be seen crying out in pain when Comotto fired the Taser. The knife was then removed from his hand.
Jarvis told the jury: 'I want to make it clear — these defendants are not responsible for his death. He was an elderly gentleman who was unwell. The force used was unnecessary and excessive in the circumstances. The defendants assaulted Mr Burgess, causing actual bodily harm.'
The trial was adjourned until Tuesday.