UK Police Officer Faces Misconduct Hearing Over Tasing of 92-Year-Old
Officer allegedly joked about the incident on social media hours after it occurred; care home resident died three weeks later.
A police officer who deployed a Taser on a 92-year-old wheelchair-bound man with dementia is facing a misconduct hearing. PC Rachel Comotto fired the 50,000-volt weapon at Donald Burgess in June 2022 after he reportedly threatened care home staff with a dinner knife and refused to drop it.
Body-worn camera footage shown at the hearing depicted Mr. Burgess screaming in pain as the Taser barbs made contact with his chest. He was subsequently transferred to a hospital, where he died three weeks later following a cardiac arrest. Authorities have stated it is not alleged that the officers' actions directly led to his death, as he contracted COVID-19 during his hospitalization.
Hours after the incident at the Park Beck Care Home in St. Leonards-on-Sea, PC Comotto reportedly posted a lightning emoji on Facebook in response to a colleague's message. According to reports, her colleague had posted, "Happy birthday, the care home is getting closer and closer" alongside emojis. PC Comotto's reply was, "We all know what happens in care homes," followed by the lightning emoji. Another officer responded, "I think you'll be banned from going to any care homes in future. All he wanted to do was butter his bread," accompanied by laughing emojis.
During the misconduct hearing in Lewes, East Sussex, PC Comotto admitted the Facebook comment "doesn't look good" and apologized to Mr. Burgess's family. She stated that she made the comment because she was the subject of jokes from colleagues at her police station, who were laughing and joking about her having used force on a vulnerable patient in a care home. She clarified that the humor was directed at her, not Mr. Burgess, and that her colleagues did not know the full details of the incident.
PC Comotto and her colleague, PC Stephen Smith, are accused of using excessive force, amounting to gross misconduct. Bodycam footage showed PC Smith entering the room first, where Mr. Burgess was isolated and holding a knife. PC Smith can be heard telling Mr. Burgess he would be "sprayed or tasered" if he did not drop the knife. He then pepper-sprayed the pensioner and, after Mr. Burgess failed to comply, struck him with a police baton.
PC Comotto then announced she would use her Taser. She told the panel she discharged the weapon to prevent Mr. Burgess from being struck again with the baton. She explained that a second baton strike could have been too much for an elderly person and that a Taser presented a lower risk of injury compared to a baton.
Mr. Burgess was handcuffed and escorted from the care home by officers. The hearing is ongoing.