A disciplinary hearing is underway for two Sussex Police officers following a 2022 incident in East Sussex. the proceedings examine allegations that PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto used excessive force against 92-year-old Donald Burgess, a man who died three weeks after the encounter .
The rapid escalation of force at Park Beck Care Home
In June 2022, police responded to reports of an elderly man threatening staff with a knife at the Park Beck Care Home in St Leonards-on-Sea. According to the report, PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto arrived to find 92-year-old Donald Burgess, a one-legged pensioner in a wheelchair, holding a small dinner knife.
This incident highlights a growing concern regarding how law enforcement agencies manage interactions with highly vulnerable, elderly citizens. As police forces across the UK face scrutiny over de-escalation tactics, the handling of Mr. Burgess serves as a critical case study in whether officers are sufficiently trained to recognize cognitive confusion or physical disability as factors that require patience rather than physical intervention.
The three-pronged use of force against Donald Burgess
The disciplinary hearing was told that the officers acted with unnecessary aggression during the encounter. As the report states, PC Smith allegedly pepper-sprayed Mr. Burgess directly in the face and struck his arm with a police baton when the man failed to drop the knife. Seconds later,PC Comotto reportedly discharged her Taser, striking the pensioner in the chest. Following these actions, Mr. Burgess was handcuffed and transported to a police station, where his condition deteriorated, eventually leading to his death following a cardiac arrest and a bout with Covid-19.
PC Rachel Comotto’s inappropriate Facebook comments
Beyond the physical encounter, the hearing is also addressing the professional conduct of PC Rachel Comotto on social media. The report notes that later on the day of the inicdent, Comotto interacted with a colleague on Facebook regarding the care home.. She allegedly replied that "everyone knows what happens in care homes" and included a lightning emoji, a comment that lawyer Aaron Rathmell described as inappropriate and unprofessional in the context of the Taser deployment.
Was the threat posed by Mr. Burgess truly credible?
Several critical questions remain at the heart of this disciplinary process. it has not been definitively established whether the small dinner knife posed a credible threat to the officers, especially since the report claims Mr. Burgess had not moved toward them. Furthermore, the hearing must determine why the officers failed to consult care home staff for a medical diagnosis or vulnerability assessment before resorting to force. The central question for the panel is whether the use of a Taser and pepper spray was a proportionate response to a confused, disabled man, or an unnecessary escalation of a manageable situation.
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