Police Officer Found Guilty of Killing Former Professional Footballer

A serving UK police officer has been found guilty of the manslaughter of retired footballer Dalian Atkinson. 

Jurors heard how PC Benjamin Monk kicked Atkinson several times in the head and used a taser against the former Aston Villa striker for 33 seconds. The court heard how Monk rested his boot on Atkinson's head after the 48-year-old had already fallen to the ground. 

At the trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Monk denied using excessive force and claimed his actions were “instinctive.” 

The incident occurred near Atkinson’s father’s home in Telford, in England’s West Midlands region, on the 15th of August, 2016. Officers responded after neighbours reported Atkinson was acting erratically and threatening to kill his father. His family would later testify that Atkinson was suffering from a depressive episode.

Meanwhile, jurors are still deliberating in the trial of Monk’s co-defendant, PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith, who is standing trial for assault for striking Atkinson with a baton after he was tasered. Bettley-Smith defended her actions in court by claiming the former footballer’s behaviour made him look like “the angriest person I have ever seen in my life."

"I remember his eyes bulging out of his head,” Bettley-Smith testified in court. “His stance made me think he was ready to fight…I said in my interview that my life flashed before my eyes and that is no exaggeration - I was absolutely terrified.”

Monk, who was found not guilty of murder, is the first sitting UK police officer since the 1980s to be convicted of manslaughter while carrying out their duties.