Two Sussex Police Officers Plead Not Guilty in Assault Case Involving Disabled Senior

The officers are accused of using excessive force on a 93-year-old man with dementia during a 2022 incident in a care home.

Two Sussex Police officers, PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto, denied charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Donald Burgess, a 93-year-old care home resident.
The incident occurred in June 2022 at a care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, where Burgess allegedly threatened staff with a knife.
Both officers used a Taser, pepper spray, baton, and handcuffs on Burgess, who died three weeks later in hospital.
An Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation concluded the police actions did not contribute to Burgess' death.
The case has been forwarded to Southwark Crown Court, with a hearing scheduled for May 23.