Police officers 'use force first' on amputee, 92

Donald Burgess was resident in a home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex

Two police officers who pepper-sprayed and Tasered a 92-year-old amputee chose to "use force first and ask questions later", a jury has heard.

PCs Stephen Smith, 51, and Rachel Comotto, 36, deny using excessive force on Donald Burgess at Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, in June 2022.

The care home had called 999 after Mr Burgess, a single-leg amputee and wheelchair user, reportedly grabbed a knife and threatened to stab staff, Southwark Crown Court was told.

Following the incident, Mr Burgess was taken to hospital and later contracted Covid. He died 22 days later.

The court heard that PC Smith allegedly emptied a full canister of synthetic Pava spray into Mr Burgess' face and struck him with a baton, with PC Comotto deploying her Taser – all within one minute and 23 seconds of entering the wheelchair-bound pensioner's room.

Prosecutor Paul Jarvis said: "Time, we suggest, was not against the defendants in this case, it was very much in their favour, but the approach which they chose to take was use force first and ask questions later."

He added: "We suggest that those features of the case and their behaviour upon arrival at the care home that day tell you something important about their intentions not to try and gather information, but to try and resolve it as quickly as possible."

PC Smith denies two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm for his use of Pava spray and for using a baton, while PC Comotto denies one count related to her use of Taser on Mr Burgess.

PCs Rachel Comotto and Stephen Smith are accused of using excessive force on Donald Burgess

PC Comotto said she believed using the Taser was the safest way to "protect" Mr Burgess.

"I honestly believed the Taser was necessary," she previously told the jury.

"It was proportionate because other tactics had failed. If I didn't act, something worse could happen."

Robert Megit, a professional development assessor at Sussex Police, described PC Comotto as someone who was "incredibly calm" and "patient".

He said he had "never observed her use excessive force" and that she was "very good at talking people down".

Det Insp Neil Bates praised her "exceptional work ethic and professionalism" while other colleagues on the force described her as "calm" and "level-headed".

Mr Jarvis told jurors during his closing speech that the officers had failed to gather information about the situation before entering Mr Burgess' room.

He said: "It didn't have to happen that way. It was not forewritten that the officers had to use the force that they did.

"Neither was it inevitable that because one type of force was used and didn't succeed, there had to be another, and another."

PC Smith previously told jurors he did not see that Mr Burgess was disabled and using a wheelchair as he was focused on the knife the pensioner was holding in his hand.

He said he only realised Mr Burgess was an amputee after the incident, when he was wheeled out of the room.

Referring to body-worn footage of the incident played in court during the trial, Mr Jarvis asked jurors: "How credible do you think is that testimonial?

"You have watched the video, you have seen it. We are talking about something that is happening right in front of his eyes and he claims not to have seen it.

"If he was honest...then the obvious question is, how could you imagine that he (Mr Burgess) was a threat to you or you colleague if he cannot stand up?"

The prosecution argued PC Smith resorted to using his Pava spray and then his baton on Mr Burgess "not because he had an instinctive feeling that there was need to use force to protect other people or Mr Burgess, but because he had had enough of it".

The trial continues.

Additional reporting from PA Media