Police who Tasered and pepper-sprayed one-legged dementia patient, 92, 'may have contributed to his death'

Police who Tasered and pepper-sprayed one-legged dementia patient, 92, 'may have contributed to his death' PC Stephen Smith pepper-sprayed Donald Burgess and hit him with his baton, before PC Rachel Comotto shot the 92-year-old with her Taser at a care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex Two police officers who pepper-sprayed, batoned and brutally Tasered a 92-year-old amputee with dementia over a butter knife could have contributed to his death, an inquest has heard. Sussex Police was called to the care home where Donald Burgess lived after staff reported he would not let go of a specially-adapted piece of cutlery. The cops' body-worn cameras showed Mr Burgess screaming in pain as he sat in his wheelchair. After responding to a complaint that the one-legged pensioner flicked food at a carehome worker, PC Stephen Smith arrived before spraying the man and repeatedly hitting him with his baton within seconds of entering his room at the Park Beck home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. While he still has hold of the knife, PC Rachel Comotto shot the pensioner with her Taser gun in an incident lasted less than 90 seconds. Mr Burgess' family asked for an inquest into his death to be re-opened following the acquittal of the two officers at a Southwark Crown Court trial in May last year. At a hearing in Lewes, his family argued it was impossible not to link the death of Mr Burgess to the police officers' actions on July 13 2022. Family member Jesse Nicholls said the coroner should re-open an inquest to investigate any link between the methods of control used on Mr Burgess and his death 22 days later. He described Sussex Police's suggestion the case was cut and dried as unrealistic. He said: “There is a degree, an air of, unreality in the police submissions. This is a case where and elderly and very vulnerable man was subjected to significant force by police and later died in circumstances he would not have been in.” The potential extra physiological stress caused by the use of force was enough to reopen the inquest, he said. The suggestion the use of force by officers and the death of Mr Burgess was a ‘remarkable coincidence’ was wrong, Mr Nicholls said. He added: “You only have to step back and look at the circumstances.” The impossibility of the police position needed to be investigated, he said. “It simply isn’t sustainable to suggest this is a natural causes death that doesn’t involve violence,” Mr Nicholls said. “He was an amputee wheelchair user with a history of very serous health difficulties and dementia. He was holding a round pointed cutlery knife.” The officers made no effort to assess the situation and within one minute and 14 seconds they had used significant force, he said. “They were shouting, screaming threats against him while he is sitting unmoving in a wheelchair - he is sitting, stunned with his mouth open," Mr Nicholls went on. “When he tries to speak, they shout over him. When he’s asked how he is, he says 'I’m dying'.” He said he is "very concerned" by police comments, as well as the use of force, adding: “As they are leaving, you can hear PC Comotto laughing and saying 'is there any Pava left in the can?'.” PC Comotto told staff she was not aware of what kind of home Park Beck was. “They might have checked that before using spray, baton and taser,” Mr Nicholls said. His admission to hospital where he later died would not have happened if not for the police use of force, the family argued. The ‘methods of control’ used by police and the possible link to his death needed to be investigated by the coroner, Mr Nicholls said. It was not correct to dismiss the need for an inquest on the grounds Mr Burgess died from natural causes, Mr Nicholls said. The officers' conduct supported resumption of the inquest, he said. Lawyers for the two PCs said Mr Burgess died from natural causes and his death does not require any further investigation. Sussex Police's Tom Day told the court: “There is no evidence the actions of the officers brought about his death any sooner that it would have been.” The actions of police may be the subject of public interest but did not play a significant role in his death, Mr Day insisted. Mr Burgess was admitted to the Conquest Hospital after being Tasered by police, where he was treated for a urinary infection. He was not allowed to return to the care home after he had recovered enough to be discharged on June 28. Mr Burgess remained in hospital and tested positive test for Covid on July 9. He died in hospital 22 days after the police were called. Lawyers for the police and care home said it was speculative to say he would not have contracted Covid if the police had not been called. A post mortem examination gave the cause of death as heart disease with bronchopneumonia. Mr Day described linking his death to the police action as speculation, saying "there is no evidence of a causative link,” he said. Mr Nicholls, speaking for the family, said: “It is a clear position on the facts that he died on a hospital admission which would not have been necessary if not for the police use of force.” Southwark Crown Court heard PC Comotto and PC Smith were called to the care home on June 21, 2022 after Mr Burgess poked a worker in the stomach with a butter knife. Despite the elderly patient only having one leg, PC Smith claimed he did not realise he was disabled. PC Comotto denied she was “trigger-happy”. The officers were cleared of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. In a statement after the jury cleared the officers, Mr Burgess family said they were “disappointed and saddened” by the verdict after an “incredibly distressing” three years. They added: “The verdict adds to our sense of injustice regarding the callous manner in which Donald, a 92-year-old amputee in a wheelchair was treated by PC Smith and PC Comotto in their brief but life-changing interaction. “From the beginning we have engaged in these legal proceedings in the hope that lessons would be learned and that the violent actions of these officers would not be repeated against any other vulnerable civilians. We will continue to work towards our aim. We hope that the coroner will resume the inquest into Donald’s death.” Mr Burgess suffered from multiple health conditions including diabetes and carotid artery disease. The court heard his behaviour was “out of character” and he may have been “delirious” because of a urinary tract infection. Assistant Coroner Michael Spencer said he would give his decision on reopening the inquest at a later date. PCs Smith and Comotto will face a police disciplinary tribunal next week.