A police officer has been convicted of the manslaughter of former professional footballer Dalian Atkinson.
PC Benjamin Monk tased Mr. Atkinson for 33 seconds, more than six times longer than the normal cycle, before kicking him at least two in the head in a clash in August 2016.
Birmingham Crown Court jurors took more than 18 hours to reach a unanimous verdict on the manslaughter charge against Monk. They cleared him of Mr. Atkinson’s murder.
The jury continues to deliberate on an assault charge against Monk’s co-worker, PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith.
The 48-year-old former Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town striker had shouted on the street in the wee hours of August 15 outside his father’s house in Telford and asked to be allowed entry .
Atkinson’s family said in a statement after the verdict: “On the night of his death, Dalian was vulnerable and ill and in need of medical attention. Instead he suffered abuse and died with the boot lace prints of PC Monk bruised on the forehead.
“We were sickened to hear PC Monk try to downplay the force he used on Dalian and exaggerate the threat he posed.”
According to the charity inquiry, no police officer has been convicted of murder or manslaughter for death in custody or as a result of contact with police in England and Wales since the 1980s.
The last time an officer was convicted in such a case was in 1986, when a Merseyside police sergeant was convicted of manslaughter after kicking and punching a driver retired bus in a police cell.
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-16 09:19:00
