Two officers dismissed for Tasering 92-year-old amputee in East Sussex care home

PCs Stephen Smith and Rachel Comotto were sacked for gross misconduct after using a Taser and pepper spray on dementia patient Donald Burgess.

Officers sacked over use of force on 92-year-old care home resident

Two police officers have been dismissed without notice following a gross misconduct hearing, after deploying a Taser and synthetic pepper spray against a 92-year-old amputee with dementia, The Independent reports.

PCs Stephen Smith and Rachel Comotto attended a care home in St Leonards, East Sussex, on 21 June 2022, responding to reports that a resident was threatening staff with a knife. Body-worn camera footage showed the officers entering a room where Donald Burgess, a wheelchair user with an amputated leg, had been isolated.

Burgess was holding a cutlery knife. Within 90 seconds of their arrival, both officers used force against him. PC Smith sprayed Pava — a synthetic pepper spray — into the elderly man's face and struck his arm with a baton. PC Comotto then discharged her Taser.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) concluded that the officers had subjected Burgess to "excessive force". Smith and Comotto were formally dismissed on Tuesday and will be added to the official police barred list.

Although both officers were cleared of assault charges at a criminal trial in May 2025, the IOPC said the misconduct findings stood independently of those proceedings.

Burgess was taken to hospital after the 2022 incident. He contracted Covid and died 22 days later. The officers were not held responsible for his death.

Source: The Independent