Atkinson scored more than 20 Premier League goals for the Birmingham side between 1991 and 1995 before going on to play less successfully for other teams including Turkish side Fenerbahce and a spell on loan with Manchester City.
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A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘We were called by West Mercia Police to an address in Meadow Close in the Trench area of Telford at about 1.45am this morning.
Former players including Sol Campbell and Ian Taylor have paid tribute to the 48-year-old following his death. “I don’t know if he was drunk or on drugs but he was very agitated and his mind was upset”, his father told The Telegraph.
“West Mercia Police were called to a property at around 1.30am on Monday”.
Neighbours woken by the commotion called police, who apparently Tasered Atkinson three times as they tried to fell him.
West Mercia Police said the 48-year-old man – named locally as Atkinson – was given medical treatment after being Tasered but died around 90 minutes later.
“He had some health issues that he was trying to get through and that’s why his heart was weak”, his nephew Fabian Atkinson said.
An outpouring of grief emerged on social media following his death, as well as remarks about the issue of police brutality, especially against Black people, as a phenomenon in the United Kingdom as well.
She said: ‘The police officer shouted something about deploying the Taser but because the gentleman was still stumbling forwards he deployed the Taser anyway.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is looking into the death, which came after the retired footballer was tasered outside his father’s house.
“IPCC investigators are at the scene gathering the available information and are attending the post-incident procedures to supervise the recovery of initial evidence”.
The case immediately touched off a debate about the use of Tasers in a country where police rarely carry guns. British police are not routinely armed.
The police use of Tasers rose slightly towards the end of 2015 with 10,329 uses by forces in England and Wales – a 2 per cent increase compared with 2014.
He scored for the England B team in 1990 in his only worldwide appearance.
Atkinson began his career at Ipswich and later played for Sheffield Wednesday and Spanish side Real Sociedad before he moved to Villa.
Atkinson was most famous for a scoring a goal for Villa against Wimbledon in October 1992, when he ran from inside his own half, evaded a number of attempted challenges before chipping the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net.
Atkinson was a top flight striker in the nineties, who ended his career playing in South Korea in 2001.
Another tweeted: “Saddened by death of Dalian Atkinson a legend to all the Villa faithful #AVFC #RIP”.
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The club today announced it would hold a minute’s applause at their upcoming match against Huddersfield to honour him.
