Sussex Police officers PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto have both been found not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on a 92-year-old amputee.
Southwark Crown Court found Smith not guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm for his use of pava spray and use of a baton on the pensioner, whilst Comotto was found not guilty of one count for deploying her taser.
Police responded to a 999 call from the care home.
The 92-year-old reportedly grabbed a knife and threatened to stab staff, Southwark Crown Court was told.
PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comott arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court, London
PADonald Burgess was then pepper-sprayed, hit with a baton, and shot with a taser during the incident at Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, the court heard.
Burgess, who also suffered from dementia, died three weeks after the incident in June 2022.
Southwark Crown Court also heard that this was “out of character” for Burgess, whose movements with the knife were described by deputy care home manager Donna Gardner as “extremely quick”.
“The reason for his behaviour that day, we now know, is that he was delirious as a result of a urinary tract infection,” judge Christopher Hehir told jurors.
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Sussex Police officers Pc Stephen Smith and Pc Rachel Comotto have both been found not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on a 92-year-old amputee (pictured)
HandoutFollowing the incident in June 2022, Sussex Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Mel Palmer, the regional IOPC director for the southeast, said: "Following our investigation, the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] has authorised charges against both officers and criminal proceedings will now take place."
Burgess’s family said they were "shocked and horrified" by his death.
A neighbour at his former home in Battle, East Sussex said: "He was a lovely, sociable man. He and his wife, Ethel, lived here for years and they were a lovely couple.
Police were called to Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea after receiving reports about an elderly man threatening staff with a knifeGoogle mapsThey added: "Ethel got cancer and the last time she went into a hospice I promised her I'd look after her Don."
She said that Burgess was a retired carpenter and had suffered from diabetes, which resulted in him having his leg amputated.
The neighbour explained: "After Ethel died he had his own carers.
"But after he had his leg amputated he only came back for one night before he had to go into a care home."
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