- Two police officers have been sacked without notice for gross misconduct after using excessive force on a 92-year-old amputee.
- PCs Stephen Smith and Rachel Comotto responded to reports of a resident threatening staff at a care home in St Leonards, East Sussex, in June 2022.
- Within 90 seconds of arriving, Pc Smith deployed Pava pepper spray and a baton against wheelchair user Donald Burgess, while Pc Comotto discharged her Taser.
- Mr Burgess was isolated in a room and holding a cutlery knife at the time the force was used.
- Although cleared of criminal assault charges, both officers were dismissed following an Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation and added to the police barred list.
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