Two police officers sacked for excessive force against 92-year-old

Two police officers, PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto, have been dismissed for gross misconduct following their treatment of Donald Burgess, a 92-year-old amputee with dementia. The incident occurred in June 2022 at the Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, after officers responded to reports that Mr. Burgess was threatening staff with a knife.

According to a misconduct panel, the officers used unjustified and excessive force, including synthetic pepper spray (Pava), a baton, and a Taser, within 83 to 90 seconds of entering the room. The panel concluded that the officers failed to de-escalate the situation and that the force used was unnecessary as Mr. Burgess was isolated in his room and posed no threat to other residents.

While the officers were previously cleared of assault charges during a trial in May 2025, they were dismissed without notice and added to the College of Policing’s barred list, prohibiting them from future police work. Mr. Burgess died three weeks after the incident after contracting Covid-19 following his transport to a police station.