A disciplinary hearing has been told that two Sussex Police officers acted hastily and used excessive force against Donald Burgess, a 92-year-old disabled pensioner with dementia, at his care home in June 2022. The case matters because the officers could be dismissed if allegations that they escalated the encounter and failed to treat him with compassion are upheld.

Burgess was in his wheelchair holding a small dinner knife when officers Stephen Smith and Rachel Comotto arrived after reports that he had threatened staff. The hearing was told Smith pepper-sprayed him and struck his arm with a baton, then Comotto used a Taser; Burgess was handcuffed and taken to a police station, where his condition worsened, and he died in hospital three weeks later. The hearing was also told the officers did not seek information from care staff or try to de-escalate, and Comotto faces a separate allegation over Facebook comments; the article does not report the panel’s findings.