11:34 EDT, 11 May 2021
A policeman accused of murdering former Premier League star Dalian Atkinson had his foot gently resting on the former footballer s head after he was tasered, one of the officer s colleagues has told a jury.
PC Benjamin Monk, 42, allegedly used unlawful force by kicking the ex-Aston Villa striker in the head with substantial force , while PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith, 31, allegedly assaulted him with a baton. Atkinson, 48, was tasered three times and had two bootlace prints on his forehead after the incident in Telford, Shropshire on August 15, 2016. He subsequently died of cardio-respiratory arrest in hospital.
Giving evidence from the witness box in the second week of the hearing, PC Samuel Wright told Birmingham Crown Court he arrived at the scene in a van with another West Mercia Police constable.