A court has heard that two police officers used pepper spray and a Taser on a 92-year-old amputee at a care home in East Sussex. The man, Donald Burgess, died three weeks later in hospital.
PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto are facing charges of assault following the incident at Park Beck Residential Care Home in St Leonards-on-Sea.
Jurors were told that officers were called to the care home on June 21, 2022, after Mr. Burgess allegedly poked a care worker in the stomach with a butter knife and flicked food at her. Staff members had wheeled him back to his room and spent around 30 minutes trying to calm him before contacting emergency services. The call was treated as a Grade 1 emergency, the highest response level.
Upon entering the room, body-worn camera footage showed Mr. Burgess sitting in a wheelchair, still holding the serrated knife. PC Smith is heard saying, “Put it down mate. Come on, Donald, don’t be silly,” and, “We can solve it without having to resort to this… Do as you’re told.”
According to prosecutors, Smith then emptied “all or almost all” of his pepper spray canister directly into Mr. Burgess’s face. Footage also showed him approaching the elderly man with an extended baton and striking him. Moments later, PC Comotto deployed her Taser as Mr. Burgess cried out in pain. The knife was taken from him soon after.
Prosecutor Paul Jarvis KC told Southwark Crown Court that the officers used “unjustified and unlawful” force, stating that just one minute and 23 seconds passed between their arrival and the use of the Taser.
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“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,” Mr. 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.”
Jurors were informed that Mr. Burgess, who suffered from dementia, diabetes, and carotid artery disease, was taken to hospital after the incident. He died 22 days later after contracting Covid-19. However, the prosecutor clarified that the officers were not being held responsible for his death.
Mr. Jarvis emphasized: “He was an elderly gentleman who was unwell… but the force used was unnecessary and excessive in the circumstances. The defendants assaulted Mr. Burgess, causing actual bodily harm.”
The trial continues.
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