Latest news with #PavaSpray
BBC News
22-05-2025
- BBC News
Donald Burgess' knife was threat, accused PC tells court
A police officer believed an amputee who threatened to stab care home staff had "ample opportunity" to drop his knife before he was Tasered, a court has Stephen Smith told Southwark Crown Court that he did not see that Donald Burgess, 92, was disabled and in a wheelchair before he used Pava spray, and then a baton before making an police officer, aged 51, and PC Rachel Comotto are accused of using excessive force on Mr Burgess, who had one leg, at Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea in June Smith denies two charges of assault and PC Comotto, 36, denies one charge of assault by discharging her Taser at Mr Burgess. Mr Burgess was taken to hospital after his arrest and later contracted died 22 days later aged 93, and the PCs are not accused of being responsible for his death. Jurors were previously told the care home had called 999 after Mr Burgess reportedly grabbed a cutlery knife and said he wanted to murder the site manager with a cutlery Smith told jurors: "The way he had been threatening staff members - the threat was the knife, to the staff there, and also to himself."The court heard both PC Smith and PC Comotto repeatedly asked Mr Burgess to drop the knife and PC Smith warned him he would be sprayed or Tasered if he did Smith told the court he believed Mr Burgess "could clearly understand what we were saying to him".In the Sussex Police "use of force form", which PC Smith filled out shortly after the incident, he wrote Mr Burgess was "given ample opportunity" to drop the knife. Jurors heard on Monday that PC Smith allegedly emptied a canister of Pava incapacitant spray into Mr Burgess's face and struck him with a baton before PC Comotto deployed her Thursday, Smith denied this and said he used a "short burst" of Pava on Mr Burgess."I just wanted the knife out of the gent's hand", PC Smith said, adding that he tried to "knock the knife out of Mr Burgess's hand" by using the baton. Ian Mills, a police use-of-force adviser, later testified for the defence that PC Smith's actions "though difficult to watch, was generally in accordance with his training".Mr Mills agreed PC Smith used his baton with "minimal force" and said police officers make "split-second decisions based on their perception of the circumstances" and "without the benefit of hindsight".The two officers made a "tactical error" in failing to "fully explore avenues of information before entering the room" such as by talking to the care home staff about Mr Burgess, Mr Mills say the force used against Mr Burgess was excessive and unnecessary given his age and physical trial continues.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- The Independent
Police ‘joked about using full can of pepper spray' on disabled 92-year old care home resident
Two police officers joked about using a full can of Pava spray on a 92-year-old care home resident who had just been tasered and arrested, a court has heard. Body-worn video footage of officers in the moments after Donald Burgess, a single-leg amputee and wheelchair user, was restrained was shown to jurors. The care home resident was staying at Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. Pava spray is a synthetic-made pepper spray that many forces in the UK now use in place of the traditional gas spray. Pc Stephen Smith, 51, and Pc Rachel Comotto, 36, are on trial at Southwark Crown Court accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after allegedly using excessive force on Mr Burgess in June 2022. Smith is charged with two counts of assault, relating to his use of Pava spray and a baton, while Comotto faces one count for discharging her Taser. Earlier this week, jurors heard how Smith allegedly emptied a full canister of the incapacitant into Mr Burgess's face, struck him with a baton, and how Comotto deployed her Taser – all within 83 seconds of entering his room. On Wednesday, the jury was shown fresh body-worn camera footage from the aftermath of the incident. In one clip, Comotto is seen laughing and asking Smith: 'Oh my God, is there any left in your can?' Smith replies: 'Probably not.' Later, another officer outside the care home asks if Smith had used a 'Smithy special'. Smith responded by describing the incident as a 'stand-off'. 'Even after spraying he clutched on to it (the knife) to the point where I was going to knock it out of his hands,' he said. 'Just a stand-off with him – gave him all the options.' At one point, Mr Burgess, visibly distressed, told the officers: 'I'm dying.' He is then handcuffed in his wheelchair and taken outside. Speaking to care home manager Steve Cooper shortly after the incident, Comotto says: 'We don't like doing that at all, but what can you do?' Prosecutors say the force used against Mr Burgess – who had been threatening staff with a serrated cutlery knife and telling them he would take pleasure in murdering them – was excessive and unnecessary given his age and physical condition. He was seated in his wheelchair and surrounded by staff when officers entered his room and began issuing commands, jurors have heard. The footage also showed officers coughing heavily after the spray was deployed. In Comotto's body-worn footage she says: 'I just hate Pava. It's just horrible, isn't it?' In a statement given during a police interview and read to the court by prosecutor Paul Jarvis KC, the officer 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.' Comotto said she only learned of Mr Burgess's age after the incident and was 'very shocked', saying she thought he was much younger. 'I treated Mr Burgess with respect and courtesy before and after the force was used,' she added. The trial continues.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- The Independent
Legal bid over plans to use pepper spray in young offender institutions
The Government is being threatened with legal action over plans to allow prison officers to use synthetic pepper spray in young offender institutions. Charity Howard League for Penal Reform has sent a letter before claim to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood urging her to reverse the move set to be rolled out this summer. Pava spray, which is an incapacitant, is due to be made available 'in limited circumstances' to a select number of specialist staff at the three public sector YOIs holding under-18s – YOI Werrington, Wetherby and Feltham A, the Ministry of Justice announced in April. The measure, which seeks to combat rising violence from inmates, was welcomed by union bosses who lobbied for the change for prison officers to be given equipment to protect themselves. The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show rates of assaults on staff in the YOIs are 14 times higher than within adult prisons. But the plan sparked criticism from the Children's Commissioner and the charity, which warned it was 'a serious escalation in the use of force that is permitted against children'. The spray is set to be rolled out for an initial 12 months before it is reviewed by ministers, while each use of the spray will be reviewed by an independent panel. On Tuesday, charity chief executive Andrea Coomber KC said: 'The Howard League has been preparing to take whatever steps necessary to challenge the roll-out of Pava spray to prisons holding children, including potential legal action. 'We know that Pava spray has been used inappropriately in prisons holding adults; to use it on children would be catastrophic. 'Far from keeping children and staff safe, normalising the use of violence in this way risks making conditions even worse for those living and working in prison.' The national charity is concerned there is a lack of research on the use of the spray in custody, and specifically against children, while existing research in relation to adults shows a 'myriad of potential physiological health impacts'. Ms Coomber added: 'Instead of arming staff, the way to reduce violence is to close failing young offender institutions and ensure that children are accommodated in more appropriate settings – such as secure children's homes – where they can be given the care and support they need. Prison is no place for a child.' The pre-action letter sent by lawyers on behalf of Howard League asks for the Justice Secretary to withdraw the decision and respond within 14 days, it said. The campaigners have also launched a crowd fundraiser to help them fund the challenge, which has currently raised more than £10,000. Announcing the roll-out in April, justice minister Sir Nic Dakin said: 'This Government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis. The unacceptable levels of violence faced by our brave frontline officers in young offender institutions is yet another symptom of that. 'This is not a decision we have made lightly, but our overarching duty is to keep staff and young people in custody safe. This spray is a vital tool to prevent serious violence, helping staff to focus on rehabilitation as part of our Plan for Change.' The rate of assault incidents on staff last year was 170.0 per 100 children and young people at Feltham, 182.9 per 100 at Werrington, and 167.4 per 100 at Wetherby, Ministry of Justice figures show. The rates are around 14 times the equivalent figure in adult prisons in England and Wales, which was 12.2 per 100.
