Police officers who pepper-sprayed and Tasered amputee, 92, cleared of assault

Handout screengrab from body worn video issued by Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) of the incident when Donald Burgess was sprayed in the face with synthetic pepper spray before being shot by a Taser and hit with a baton, by police officers responding to a call at his care home. The one-legged 93-year-old was allegedly assaulted by Pc Stephen Smith and Pc Rachel Comotto, at the home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, on June 21 2022. At a trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court, 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. - (PA Media)

Two police officers who used a Taser and synthetic pepper spray on a one-legged 92-year-old man have been cleared of assault.

Pc Stephen Smith, 51, and Pc Rachel Comotto, 36, were accused of using excessive force on Donald Burgess during a confrontation at Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, in June 2022.