Two police officers were fired after using a Taser and baton on a 92-year-old wheelchair-bound amputee who held a cutlery knife. Bodycam footage showed that the officers used excessive force, leading to a misconduct hearing where they were found guilty of inappropriate actions. One officer jokingly referenced the incident on social media, further impacting public trust in policing. The elderly man later died from complications including Covid-19, though the cause was not directly linked to his injuries during the encounter.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In June 2022, PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto were called to Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea after resident Donald Burgess, a 92-year-old amputee with dementia, threatened staff with a dinner knife. The officers used excessive force, including a Taser, baton, and Pava pepper spray, against the elderly man who was sitting calmly in his wheelchair within 83 seconds of entering his room. Despite being acquitted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Southwark Crown Court in May 2025, both officers were found guilty of gross misconduct by a disciplinary panel for Sussex Police and have since been sacked and barred from working in policing again by the College of Policing. Burgess was hospitalized after the incident and died 22 days later due to complications from Covid-19, though his death was not attributed directly to police action.
Written for “Police Excessive Force Against Elderly” on 2026-10-06,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but none of the 3 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 60486: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-06
Two police officers who used a Taser and synthetic pepper spray on a 92-year-old amputee have been sacked for gross misconduct.
asserted
who → use → misconduct
Police bodyworn footage showed that the officers entered a room where Mr Burgess, who was a wheelchair user with an amputated leg, had been isolated.
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who → show → leg
He was holding a cutlery knife.
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He → hold → knife
Pc Smith discharged Pava spray in the elderly man’s face and struck the arm holding the knife with a baton.
asserted
Smith → discharge → baton
Pc Comotto then discharged her Taser.
asserted
Comotto → discharge → Taser
A police misconduct hearing found the pair had used “inappropriate” force against the disabled man.
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pair → find → man
The misconduct hearing was told Pc Comotto replied to a Facebook comment to someone else which read: “Happy birthday, the care home is getting closer and closer” with wink and laugh emojis.
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home → tell → emojis
Pc Comotto replied to this: “We all know what happens in care homes”, ending with a lightning bolt emoji.
The commenter then responded: “I think you’ll be banned from going to any care homes in future, all he wanted to do was butter his bread” followed by two laughing emojis.
asserted
he → reply → emojis
On Wednesday, Pc Comotto accepted writing the comment on the day of the incident.
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Comotto → accept → incident
After the two officers used inappropriate force against him, Mr Burgess was taken to hospital and later contracted Covid-19.
He died 22 days later, aged 93.
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He → use → Covid-19
Pc Smith and Pc Comotto were cleared of assault after a Southwark Crown Court trial in May 2025, but were dismissed without notice on Tuesday, the IOPC said.
uncertain
IOPC → clear → Tuesday
They will also be put on the College of Policing’s barred list, banning them from working in policing.
asserted
They → put → policing
The deputy chief constable of Sussex Police said he was “appalled” by the officers’ actions, while IOPC director of engagement Emily Barry said Mr Burgess “clearly posed little risk to the officers”.
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Burgess → say → officers
“Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the family of Donald Burgess,” Ms Barry said.
“We know that footage of this incident showing the force used by the officers on Mr Burgess has caused widespread concern and anger.”
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footage → remain → concern
“This was not a fast-paced incident where the officers or other care home residents were in immediate danger.
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officers → pace → danger
“Mr Burgess, who was wheelchair-bound and holding a cutlery knife, was isolated from other residents and clearly posed little risk to the officers.
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who → bind → officers
“Any use of force should have been a last resort and only used when necessary.
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use → use → force
“Rather than de-escalating the situation they immediately threatened Mr Burgess with force and then discharged Pava spray, struck him with a baton and tasered him when he didn’t drop the knife.
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he → de → knife
“Their actions were clearly excessive and unreasonable, and PC Comotto then displayed further poor judgment by joking about tasering Mr Burgess on social media afterwards.
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Comotto → display → media
“Their actions have damaged the public’s trust and confidence in policing and they have been held accountable and dismissed from policing.”
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they → damage → policing
Paul Court, Sussex Police Deputy Chief Constable, said: “Like many, I was appalled by the officers’ actions and I would like to apologise to Mr Burgess’s family for their conduct during this upsetting incident.
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I → say → incident
“The force used against Mr Burgess by these officers was excessive, unnecessary and in no way reflects the conduct of those who serve in Sussex Police, particularly when responding to incidents involving vulnerable people and those in crisis.
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who → use → crisis
“Police officers can often 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.
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they → find → measure
“Any use of force must be reasonable, necessary and proportionate, and officers know they will be held accountable for their actions every time.
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they → know → actions
“I expect our officers to show empathy to people, to demonstrate restraint in their actions and to show humility and courage when things go wrong.
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things → expect → humility
“The absence of these qualities make these two officers unsuitable to serve the communities of Sussex and they have rightly been dismissed without notice from our force and will be unable to work in policing again.
asserted
they → make → policing
“Our thoughts remain with the family of Mr Burgess.”
asserted
thoughts → remain → Burgess
The Aporia
