Police officer convicted of killing former Sheffield Wednesday player Dalian Atkinson

PC Benjamin Monk, of West Mercia force, has been convicted at Birmingham crown court of killing former Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa player, Dalian Atkinson.
Dalian Atkinson made 38 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday - he was tragically killed in 2016.Dalian Atkinson made 38 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday - he was tragically killed in 2016.
Dalian Atkinson made 38 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday - he was tragically killed in 2016.

Atkinson was tasered for 33 seconds and kicked twice in the head while he was on the ground, and while Monk, 43, was not found guilty of murder, he was found guilty of manslaughter – becoming the first officer convicted of manslaughter during the course of his duties in over three decades.

The standard length of a taser is just five seconds, the court was told, substantially less than the 33 seconds that Atkinson was subjected to, though the defence claimed that it was delivered by mistake, and ‘in complete confusion and panic’.

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Prosecutors had claimed Monk used unlawful and unreasonable force out of anger, prior to the death of Mr Atkinson, who suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest.

The court heard that Atkinson was kicked with such force that his blood was found in the laces of Monk’s police issue boots during the confrontation in August 2016.

Meanwhile, jurors continue to deliberate over an assault charge for Monk's colleague, PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith, who was also present on August 15th 2016.

Bettley-Smith, 31, has denied committing assault during the incident.

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Atkinson played one season for the Owls in 1989/90, where he formed an exciting partnership with David Hirst and scored 10 goals for the club, however the dynamic duo were unable to keep the Wednesday in the top-flight, and he then left to join Real Sociedad in Spain.