Dalian Atkinson: Former Aston Villa star died after being tasered and kicked, jury in murder trial told Dalian Atkinson died in August 2016 aged 48; jury told he was tasered three times and kicked in the head at least twice by a police officer during first day of murder trial; Atkinson played for a number of clubs, including Aston Villa and Manchester City; Atkinson played for a number of clubs, including Aston Villa and Manchester City;
A jury heard that a police officer accused of the murder and manslaughter of former Aston Villa footballer Dalian Atkinson used a Taser on him for 33 seconds – more than six times the recommended duration.
PC Benjamin Monk, 42, is on trial at Birmingham Crown Court, where he has denied any misconduct that resulted in Mr Atkinson’s death.
QC Alexandra Healy, who opened the prosecution case against the West Mercia Police officer, told jurors that the typical default setting of a Taser is a five-second phase, but that this may be overridden by continuing to push the trigger.
“PC Monk continued to depress the trigger for more than six times the length of a standard five-second phase,” she stated.
“The Taser was deployed for 33 seconds.”
Jurors were also told that Monk kicked the 48-year-old former footballer in the head twice, “with enough force to leave the imprint of the pattern of the laces from the top of his boot on two separate areas of Mr Atkinson’s forehead.”
PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith, 31, commonly known as Ellie, is on trial with Monk, charged with assault.
“She struck Dalian Atkinson repeatedly with an extended baton whilst he was lying on the ground, having been incapacitated on the ground by Taser,” Ms Healy told the jury.
Bettley-Smith has pleaded not guilty to an allegation that she assaulted Mr Atkinson and caused him bodily harm before his death on August 15, 2016.
Ms Healy told jurors that pathologists and an intensive care specialist hired by the prosecution had concluded that, while Mr Atkinson’s underlying health conditions put him at a high risk of death, he would not have died that night if not for the third Taser deployment and the kicks to the head.
At before 1.30 a.m., both officers were responding to a 999 call reporting a disturbance at Mr. Atkinson’s father’s residence in Meadow Close, Telford.
Mr Atkinson had become “disturbed and erratic” due to a variety of health conditions, including high blood pressure and heart disease, the court heard.
He was ranting in the street, which roused one of his neighbors, who dialed 911.
Ms Healy said, “Mr Atkinson answered the door and was “unarmed,” and Monk attempted to taser him twice, but the device was “ineffective.”
The ex-footballer struck a glass panel in his father’s front door, “causing it to smash,” before a fight with the cops in the street, during which Monk successfully fired a third Taser cartridge at him before kicking him in the head as he lay immobilized on the ground.
According to Ms Healy, the two defendants believe they were justified in using force because they feared for their safety.
“In kicking Dalian Atkinson in the head not once, but on two separate occasions, PC Monk was not, the prosecution say, acting in self-defence or in defence of another,” the lawyer added.
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