A 92-year-old disabled man was sprayed in the face with synthetic pepper spray before being hit with a baton and shot by a Taser by police officers during a callout, a court has heard.
One-legged Donald Burgess was allegedly assaulted by PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto at a care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, on 21 June 2022.
Prosecutors are arguing the officers used “unjustified and unlawful” force within seconds of entering the wheelchair-bound pensioner’s room.
Southwark Crown Court heard on Monday that one minute and 23 seconds elapsed between the officers arriving and Mr Burgess being shot with the Taser.
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.
Staff had alerted police after Mr Burgess was seen poking a care worker in the stomach with a knife after flicking food at her.
The court was told managers wheeled him back to his room and tried for half an hour to calm him before calling 999.
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The officers were dispatched under a grade one call, meaning it was treated as the highest level of emergency.
Prosecutor Paul Jarvis KC said Mr Burgess was in his wheelchair holding a small serrated cutlery knife when the officers entered the room.
They did not speak to the staff or explain to Mr Burgess why they were there, jurors heard.
Instead, PC Smith told him: “Do you want to put the knife down or you will be sprayed or tasered. Those are the options.”
Footage from body-worn cameras played to the jury showed Smith then discharging the spray directly into Mr Burgess’s face.
Mr Jarvis said: “Comments made by Mr Smith suggest he emptied all of the canister into Mr Burgess’s face.”
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Seconds later, Smith drew his baton and struck the pensioner.
Comotto then deployed her Taser, and Mr Burgess cried out in pain.
The officers then took the knife from him.
“It ought to have been obvious by the fact he had one leg that this was a man who wasn’t going to be mobile,” Mr Jarvis said.
“This was an elderly, vulnerable man who may not have understood what was going on.
“Rather than being met with understanding and sympathy, he was confronted by irritation and annoyance on the part of the defendants.”
Mr Burgess, who suffered from multiple health conditions including diabetes and carotid artery disease, had been a resident at the home since 2018.
He had not been diagnosed with dementia, but the care home specialised in support for people with the condition.
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Mr Burgess was taken to hospital after the incident and later contracted COVID. He died 22 days later at the age of 93.
Mr Jarvis said: “I want to make it clear – these defendants are not responsible for his death. He was an elderly gentleman who was unwell.”
But he added: “The force used was unnecessary and excessive in the circumstances. The defendants assaulted Mr Burgess, causing actual bodily harm.”
The trial continues on Tuesday.
