'We all know what happens in care homes': Police officer who Tasered wheelchair-bound pensioner, 92, joked about incident in online post featuring lightning emoji

A police officer who fired a 50,000-volt Taser at a 92-year-old wheelchair-bound dementia sufferer later posted a lightning emoji on social media appearing to joke about the incident, a misconduct hearing was told.PC Rachel Comotto fired the weapon at Donald Burgess, a wheelchair-bound amputee, after he threatened to stab staff in his care home and refused to drop a dinner knife.A disciplinary panel watched body-worn footage which showed Mr Burgess screaming out in pain as the Taser barbs hit his chest and delivered a massive electric shock.After his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to hospital where he died three weeks later following a cardiac arrest.But in the hours after the incident at Park Beck Care Home in St Leonards-on-Sea, PC Comotto posted a lightning emoji in response to a Facebook post.She interacted with a colleague on Facebook after they posted a message to a separate officer on Facebook saying: 'Happy birthday, the care home is getting closer and closer' alongside a wink emoji and laughing emoji.PC Comotto replied: 'We all know what happens in care homes' and then added a lightning emoji.The officer replied: 'I think you'll be banned from going to any care homes in future. All he wanted to do was butter his bread,' with two laughing emojis. Sussex Police officers PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto are facing a disciplinary hearing after pepper-spraying and tasering an elderly man with dementia Mr Burgess was taken in handcuffs to a police station where his condition declined and he died three weeks later after contracting Covid-19PC Comotto told a police disciplinary panel she made the comment after being made the butt of a joke by colleagues at her police station.She said fellow officers were 'laughing and joking' at her because she had fired the weapon at a vulnerable patient in a dementia care home.At a misconduct hearing in Lewes, East Sussex, PC Comotto admitted the Facebook comment she made 'doesn't look good' and apologised to the family of Mr Burgess.But she said she made the comment after being made 'the butt' of the joke by fellow officers who were 'laughing and joking' about the incident.Colin Banham, her lawyer, asked: 'They were ribbing you? How far had this joke spread?'She responded: 'They did not know the details but they were laughing and joking at my expense. It was throughout the office.'Mr Banham asked: 'They were joking it had happened in a care home?'PC Comotto said: 'There was no humour directed at Mr Burgess.'PC Comotto said her Facebook post was also not meant to poke fun at Mr Burgess or the incident.She said: 'It was continuation of the joke I was the subject of or the butt of. I am the target of the joke, not Mr Burgess.'With hindsight and without context it doesn't look good and I want to extend my apologies to the family.'The incident happened in June 2022 after police received reports of an elderly man threatening staff with a knife.PC Stephen Smith and PC Comotto arrived at the home at 1.15pm and confronted wheelchair-bound Mr Burgess, who had been isolated in his own room and was holding a dinner knife.PC Smith walked into the room first and told Mr Burgess he would be 'sprayed or tasered' if he failed to immediately drop a knife he was holding. PC Smith allegedly sprayed Donald Burgess in the face when he refused to let go of a knife PC Comotto allegedly used her Taser against Mr Burgess after he had been sprayed and hit with a batonIn body-worn footage taken from PC Smith's camera, the officer says: 'Do you want to put the knife down mate for me or you will be sprayed or tasered. It's up to you. Do you want to put it down for me?'Put it on the floor Donald don't be silly. Come on, don't be silly. We can solve this without having to resort to this.'Raising his voice he says: 'Do as you're told. Put it down. Put it down. Donald put it down. Seriously, put it down. Last chance. Put it down now. Drop the knife. Drop the knife!'He then pepper sprays the pensioner in the face before repeating his demands for Mr Burgess to drop the knife.When Mr Burgess fails to do so he screams at the pensioner and hits him with his police baton.PC Comotto then shouts 'Taser, Taser' before discharging the weapon at the wheelchair-bound pensioner who screams in pain.In the second video shown of PC Comotto's body-worn footage, she tries to tend to the pensioner, who is struggling to breathe following the pepper spray.She says: 'Donald. How're you feeling?''I'm dying,' replies the 92-year-old.The video footage shows the officers handcuffing the pensioner and then wheeling him out of the care home to give him fresh air.PC Comotto, 37, and her colleague PC Stephen Smith, 52, are appearing before a disciplinary hearing accused of using 'excessive force' amounting to gross misconduct.Earlier, PC Comotto told the hearing she had discharged the Taser at Mr Burgess to prevent him being hit with a baton a second time.She said that after the initial strike was unsuccessful, she saw PC Smith was about to deliver a second blow.PC Comotto said in consideration of his age a second strike was going to be too much for Mr Burgess.She said: 'I believe it was safer to use a taser as a lower level of risk. 'A baton strike is a high level of force and can be quite injurious. 'For an older person to receive a strike from a baton it would have more impact than on a younger person.'It is not alleged at the disciplinary hearing the officers' actions continued to the subsequent death of Mr Burgess who died after contracting Covid-19 in hospital and suffering a cardiac arrest. The hearing continues.