Disabled man, 92, pepper-sprayed and tasered by police had told care home workers 'I'm going to murder you', court hears
Prosecutors are arguing PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto used "unjustified and unlawful" force within seconds of entering Donald Burgess's bedroom.
Tuesday 20 May 2025 15:18, UK
A 92-year-old disabled man who was pepper-sprayed and tasered by police officers had told care home workers he was going to "murder" them and "enjoy it", a court has heard.
Single-leg amputee Donald Burgess was allegedly assaulted by PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto at Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, on 21 June 2022.
Smith, 51, denies two counts of assault by using Pava spray and a baton, and Comotto denies one charge of assault by discharging her Taser.
Prosecutors argue the officers used "unjustified and unlawful" force within seconds of entering the wheelchair-bound pensioner's bedroom.
At Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, jurors were played the emergency call made before officers arrived at the care home.
Deputy manager Donna Gardener was the one who dialled 999 after Mr Burgess allegedly poked a member of staff in the stomach with a knife and flicked food at her.
She told the operator: "He's threatening to stab staff and has stated that he wants to murder and it will give him a great deal of pleasure.
"We've removed him from other residents but he's not given in. Going back a few years we had a spell where he was threatening to hang himself, so I don't want to take any chances with this gentleman."
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The court was told Mr Burgess had a knife with a sharp serrated edge.
"He still has the knife. I'm concerned if we leave him on his own he's going to hurt himself," Ms Gardener said.
The court also heard from care home manager Steve Cooper, who claimed Mr Burgess told him: "'I'm going to murder you, and I'll enjoy it'."
He told the jury Mr Burgess was "very aggressive" and that "different de-escalation techniques" had failed.
"I've never seen him look like that before - it looked like he was possessed," he said.
"It was 35 minutes of trying to calm the situation down before I had to make that unfortunate decision," Mr Cooper told the court.
Jurors were told on Monday that managers had wheeled him back to his room and tried to calm him down there.
The court was told there was only one minute and 23 seconds between the officers arriving and Mr Burgess being shot with the Taser.
The officers were dispatched under a grade one call, meaning it was treated as the highest level of emergency.
Prosecutor Paul Jarvis KC said Mr Burgess was in his wheelchair holding the small cutlery knife when the officers entered the room.
They did not speak to the staff or explain to Mr Burgess why they were there, jurors were told.
Instead, PC Smith told him: "Do you want to put the knife down or you will be sprayed or tasered. Those are the options."
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Pensioner had multiple conditions and died 22 days later
Footage from body-worn cameras played to the jury showed Smith then discharging the spray directly into Mr Burgess's face.
Seconds later, he drew his baton and struck the pensioner.
Comotto then deployed her Taser, and Mr Burgess cried out in pain before both officers removed the knife from him.
Mr Jarvis argued: "It ought to have been obvious by the fact he had one leg that this was a man who wasn't going to be mobile.
"This was an elderly, vulnerable man who may not have understood what was going on.
"Rather than being met with understanding and sympathy, he was confronted by irritation and annoyance on the part of the defendants."
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Mr Burgess, who suffered from multiple health conditions including diabetes and carotid artery disease, had been a resident at the home since 2018.
He had not been diagnosed with dementia, but the care home specialised in support for people with the condition.
Mr Burgess was taken to hospital after the incident and later contracted COVID-19. He died 22 days later at the age of 93.
Mr Jarvis told the court: "I want to make it clear - these defendants are not responsible for his death. He was an elderly gentleman who was unwell."
But he added: "The force used was unnecessary and excessive in the circumstances. The defendants assaulted Mr Burgess, causing actual bodily harm."
The trial continues.