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Two officers who used a have been cleared of assault. Pc Stephen Smith, 51, and Pc Rachel Comotto, 36, were accused of using excessive force on Donald Burgess, a single-leg amputee and wheelchair user, during a confrontation at Park Beck care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, in June 2022.

Jurors returned their unanimous verdicts on both Sussex Police officers at Southwark Crown Court after around two hours of deliberations on Wednesday. They found Smith not guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm for his use of Pava spray and for using a baton, whilst Comotto was found not guilty of one count for deploying her Taser. But speaking outside the court following the verdicts, Assistant Chief Constable Paul Court said the officers would face gross misconduct proceedings.

The care home had called 999 after Mr Burgess reportedly grabbed a knife he was given to cut his food and threatened to stab staff.

The court previously heard this was "out of character" for Mr 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.

Smith sprayed synthetic Pava pepper spray into Mr Burgess's face and used his baton to try and knock the knife out of Mr Burgess's hand, with Comotto deploying her Taser, all within a minute and 23 seconds of entering the wheelchair-bound pensioner's room.

Mr Burgess was taken to hospital after the incident and later contracted .

He died 22 days later aged 93.