Ex-footballer Dalian Atkinson appeared to stagger at two police officers before one deployed a Taser, court hears
Former Aston Villa striker Dalian Atkinson died due to cardio-respiratory arrest in 2016 in Telford, Shropshire, at the age of 48
On the fifth day of their trial at Birmingham Crown Court, jurors heard from David Lewis, a resident of Meadow Close, Telford, where Mr Atkinson had arrived to visit his father at about 01:30 BST. When the officers appeared, Mr Atkinson "started to walk towards them," Mr Lewis said. "When they got to the end of the driveway, they ran down the road as if they were frightened of something.Although Mr Lewis did not see PC Monk discharge his Taser, he saw Mr Atkinson fall and a female officer raising a baton above her head and bringing it down twice.
Her statement also said how "even with my window closed I could hear the strikes administered with her [PC Bettley-Smith's] baton impacting on Dalian's body and clothing".