A police officer was sentenced to eight years in prison for the manslaughter of former footballer Dalian Atkinson.
PC Benjamin Monk was sentenced after being condemned by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court last week.
Monk, from West Mercia Police, used Mr Atkinson for 33 seconds, more than six times longer than the normal cycle, before kicking him at least two in the head during a clash in August 2016.
Benjamin Monk was convicted of manslaughter of Dalian Atkinson
Monk’s conviction would be the first time in modern British criminal justice history that a British police officer has been convicted of manslaughter of a black man, according to Inquest, which supports those bereaved over the deaths linked to the state.
He would also be the first police officer in 35 years to be convicted of unlawful homicide following a death in custody or following contact with police in England or Wales.
On Thursday, jurors were discharged of the verdict on Monk’s partner Mary Ellen Bettley Smith, who was charged with assaulting Mr. Atkinson with a baton after he was thrown to the ground by Taser.
Jurors discharged from verdict on assault charge against Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith
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 court heard that the former Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town striker shouted in the street in the early hours of August 15, 2016 outside his father’s house in Telford, and asked to be allowed entry .
Monk fired a Taser three times – including a single 33-second blast – and left two lace prints on Mr Atkinson’s forehead, the trial was told.
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-28 08:13:00
