Two Sussex Police officers sacked over force used on 92-year-old

PCs Stephen Smith and Rachel Comotto have been dismissed without notice after a Sussex Police disciplinary panel found gross misconduct in their use of force against Donald Burgess. Both have also been placed on the College of Policing’s barred list, ITV News reported. [1] [3]

Police were called to Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, on 21 June 2022 after reports that Burgess, a 92-year-old wheelchair user with dementia, had a knife and was threatening staff. The care home manager later told a criminal trial that staff had tried unsuccessfully to calm him during a confrontation lasting more than 30 minutes. Smith used PAVA spray and a baton in Burgess’s room; Comotto fired a Taser. [1] [4] [6]

The panel found that the officers had not attempted to de-escalate before using force, and that their use of force was unjustified and excessive. The police watchdog said Burgess was isolated from other residents and posed little immediate risk to the officers at that stage. Comotto told the hearing she believed using the Taser was safer than a further baton strike; Smith’s lawyer said he had not intended another strike. [1] [4] [7]

A jury acquitted both officers of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in May 2025. The Independent Office for Police Conduct said at the time that they would still face misconduct proceedings. The dismissals are a separate disciplinary outcome, not criminal convictions. [2] [6]