PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Two Sussex Police officers were found not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in the case of a 92-year-old disabled man who was pepper-sprayed, hit with a baton, and tasered at an English nursing home.
👥 Who’s Involved: Police Constable (PC) Stephen Smith, PC Rachel Comotto, Donald Burgess (now-deceased 92-year-old amputee and dementia patient), care home staff, and Burgess’s family.
📍 Where & When: Park Beck care home, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, June 2022.
💬 Key Quote: “The reason for his behaviour that day, we now know, is that he was delirious as a result of a urinary tract infection,” Judge Christopher Hehir explained to jurors.
⚠️ Impact: Burgess died three weeks after the incident, having contracted an illness in the hospital. Sussex Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), and the incident led to public outcry.
IN FULL:
Two police officers from Sussex, England, have been cleared of assault charges following an incident involving a 92-year-old man at a nursing home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. Police Constable (PC) Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto were found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after using force on Donald Burgess, a dementia patient and amputee.
The incident occurred in June 2022 after police responded to an emergency call reporting that Burgess, a one-legged man confined to a wheelchair, had brandished a butter knife and threatened nursing home staff. According to court testimony, Burgess was pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton, and tasered during the encounter, which the officers escalated within moments of their arrival. He was sent to the hospital and passed away three weeks later after contracting an illness there.
NEW: Bodycam footage released shows UK police tasering Donald Burgess, a 92-year-old man with one leg, after pepper-spraying him in the face.
Infuriating.
To make matters worse, Burgess was hospitalized because of the incident where he contracted Covid and sadly passed 22… pic.twitter.com/mntRF2OuEO
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 21, 2025
The court heard that Burgess’s actions were “out of character” and later attributed to delirium caused by a urinary tract infection. Deputy nursing home manager Donna Gardner described his movements with the butter knife as “extremely quick.” Judge Christopher Hehir told the jury, “The reason for his behaviour that day, we now know, is that he was delirious as a result of a urinary tract infection.”
Following the incident, Sussex Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which led to an investigation and subsequent charges against the officers.
Burgess’s family expressed their shock and horror over his death. A neighbor from his former home in Battle, East Sussex, described him as a “lovely, sociable man” who had faced significant health challenges, including diabetes and the amputation of his leg. After his wife’s passing, Burgess, who suffered from dementia, moved into the nursing home.