According to reports, officers had fired a Taser at about 1.30 am on Monday after responding to reports of concerns for a person’s safety.
Advertisement
A retired black British footballer has died after police tasered him near his father’s home.
Mr Atkinson’s brother, Kenroy, 53, told The Sun the ex-Premier League star had undergone dialysis for kidney failure and was “not in his right mind”.
West Mercia Police said the 48-year-old man was given medical treatment after being hit by a Taser, but died around 90 minutes later.
West Mercia police said officers had been called to “a report for the concern for the safety of an individual” in Telford, central England, in the early hours of Monday and a Taser gun had been deployed.
Resident Paula Quinn added that Atkinson was “almost staggering” in the street before being shocked with the Taser.
“The police officer shouted something about deploying the Taser but because the gentleman was still stumbling forwards he deployed the Taser anyway”, Quinn told Sky. “How do they know the health of the guy or the girl that they are affecting?”
“We consider its disproportionate use against black people as indicative of police institutional racism”.
The watchdog said “the level and type of force used” was one of the elements of its investigation into police contact with Mr Atkinson before his death.
The IPCC said in a statement, “Our investigation team have been securing and preserving relevant evidence, and identifying witnesses”.
Villa hero Dalian Atkinson died after being hit by a stun gun in Meadow Close in the Trench area of Telford.
“Then one policeman said to another officer who was still kicking, “back off, back off”.
“He was named by local media as Dalian Atkinson, a 48-year-old former player for English soccer team Aston Villa when it played in the Premier League”. He started his career at Ipswich and then played for Sheffield Wednesday and the Spanish side, Real Sociedad before moving to Villa.
Atkinson scored a goal in the tradition of the great Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, winning a 50-50 ball deep in Villa’s half and picking up speed as he slalomed through the Wimbledon defense only to loft a delicate chip over Dons keeper Hans Segers for the goal.
The former striker is best remembered for scoring Villa’s opening goal in their 1994 League Cup final win over Manchester United at Wembley.
Aston Villa released a statement Monday saying it was saddened to hear of Atkinson’s death, and recalling his memorable moments playing for the club.
“He always had a smile on his face – and played football with a smile on his face”, he said, as reported by The Independent.
Advertisement
In an era when English players seldom played overseas, Atkinson scored 12 goals in 29 league games during one season with Real Sociedad, before returning to England to play for Villa.
