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Two police officers accused of pepper-spraying and tasering a one-legged 93-year-old are due to face trial. Donald Burgess, 93, was reported to have been threatening staff at the care home he lived in with a knife - who then called the police - on June 21, 2022. PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto attended the elderly dementia patient’s care home, Park Beck in St Leonards, where he was reportedly shot with a Taser and pepper sprayed in his wheelchair.
A baton was also used to disarm him. The two officers were charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) following the death of Mr Burgess three weeks later on July 13, 2022. A post mortem was carried out on July 21 and a provisional cause of death given as heart disease with bronchopneumonia.
An inquest opening in September 2023 heard that despite initial post mortem examinations indicating natural causes, his death requires investigation. READ MORE: Ex-police officer accused of distributing child sex abuse video appears in court Coroner Fiona King said: “While this appears to be a death by natural causes, this death requires an inquest because of recent contact with police before death.” The officers were charged following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct into the force used during the incident at the care home in St Leonards.
The trial is due to begin on May 19 and is expected to last for seven days. PC Smith, 50, faces two charges of ABH, while PC Comotto, 34, is charged with one count of ABH. Neighbours at his former home said they were “stunned and shocked” by his tragic death.
One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: “Oh what a tragedy. He was a lovely, sociable man. He and his wife, Ethel, lived here for years and they were a lovely couple.
“Ethel got cancer and the last time she went into a hospice I promised her I’d look after her Don. This is so upsetting. I can’t believe it.
How terrible.” She said Mr Burgess, a retired carpenter, had suffered from diabetes for some time and had to have his leg amputated as a result..
