Dalian Atkinson, former Aston Villa striker who died on August 15, 2016, at the age of 48-year-old, was killed by a police officer, PC Benjamin Monk.
The three-week battle between the prosecutors and the defendant ended today, June 23, 2021, and the jurors found the police officer guilty of manslaughter.
Before now, the jurors had declared PC Benjamin Monk innocent over the allegation that he murdered Dalian Atkinson but found him guilty of manslaughter in a unanimous verdict.
At the time of publishing this report, the 18 hours and 48 minutes long legal battle did not state the punishment PC Monk would have to face for causing the death of the former English striker.
How Dalian Atkinson died
Dalian Atkinson played for a series of clubs in the United Kingdom and Europe between 1985 and 2001. Some of the prominent clubs the late footballer played for included Aston Villa, Fenerbahçe, Manchester City, and Real Sociedad.
He retired from professional football in 2001 after scoring over 75 goals for all the clubs he played. Though he didn’t make it into the Three Lions of England‘s squad throughout his career, he made just an appearance with the England B team in 1990.
After he retired from football, it was said that he battled with some mental challenges. Dalian Atkinson met his waterloo when he decided to visit his father’s house in Meadow Close in the early hours of 15 August 2016.
During Atkinson’s time at the house which he reportedly bought with the money he earned from football, a neighbor called the police for allegedly constituting a public disturbance.
PC Benjamin Monk and his partner, PC Mary Ellen arrived at the scene and tried to arrest the retired footballer. Monk tasered Atkinson for 33 seconds and kicked him twice in the head. The kick was so hard that Atkinson’s blood stained the boot of the police officer.
In the process, Dalian Atkinson developed a cardiac arrest which led to his death one hour after the ambulance took him off the scene of the incident.
During the trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Monk denied any wrongdoing but the jurors concluded that he committed manslaughter against Dalian Atkinson.
His partner, PC Mary Ellen, is also undergoing trial. She is charged with assault on the late footballer who they said died with underlying health conditions.
