PCs mocked after amputee, 92, Tasered in Hastings care home, hearing told
Two police officers are facing a gross misconduct hearing after Tasering a 92-year-old dementia patient in a care home in 2022. The officers, who were previously acquitted of criminal assault charges, testified about the internal ridicule they faced from colleagues regarding their use of force.
Why it matters
The case highlights ongoing debates regarding police use of force against vulnerable individuals and internal police culture.
Image source, PA Media Image caption, PC Comotto and PC Smith, who deny gross misconduct, were found not guilty of assault occasioning ABH in May 2025
Two police officers were mocked after a 92-year-old amputee was Tasered at a care home in East Sussex, a gross misconduct hearing has been told.
Donald Burgess, who had dementia, was Pava sprayed and Tasered in his wheelchair during an incident at the Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea in June 2022.
PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto, who were both acquitted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in May 2025, had been called to the home after Burgess threatened carers with a dinner knife.
Comotto, 37, told the hearing at Sussex Police HQ in Lewes that other officers throughout Hastings police station "were laughing and joking at my expense for deploying a Taser in a care home".
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