Ex-Aston Villa player Dalian Atkinson has been killed in an incident with police.
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West Mercia Police (WMP) confirmed that a 48-year-old man was pronounced dead at 0300GMT on Monday after officers responded to a call at an address in Telford.
“I would like to assure people that we have begun a full and thorough investigation into police contact with Dalian Atkinson prior to his death, including the level and type of force used”, said the IPCC’s deputy chair, Rachel Cerfontyne.
A neighbour to Atkinson told Sky News: “I had known him since he was a little boy, he was a famous footballer at one time”.
“I don’t know what state of mind he was in”. He was treated at the scene and taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the incident, West Mercia Police has said.
Dalian Atkinson, a former striker for the Premier League’s Aston Villa, reportedly died early Monday morning after being Tasered by police in the town of Telford in Shropshire, England.
Police said a man received medical attention after officers used a Taser when they arrived in the early hours of Monday. I’m gutted to hear what has happened and my thoughts are with his friends and family at this time.
The incident has prompted calls for Prime Minister Theresa May to lead an “urgent and fundamental” review of how police use a weapon that can deliver a 50,000-volt shock and was sacked 1,921 times in England and Wales past year.
And as was later discovered, the man was Dalian Atkinson, who also played for Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town.
“RIP Dalian Atkinson. You’ll never be forgotten!”
According to The Guardian, Tasers have been criticized as being too often lethal, delivering a 50,000-volt shock.
He went on to score at Wembley in 1994 as Villa beat Manchester United to lift the League Cup.
It follows the death in June of ex-soldier Spencer Beynon, who was Tasered by police in Llanelli, South Wales, after stabbing a dog and then himself. His 60-yard individual run and chipped finish in a Premier League match against Wimbledon was voted the goal of the 1992-93 season by Match of the Day viewers.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said crews were called by police to an address in Meadow Close.
He was a man who wasn’t afraid to voice his opinion whatever the consequences.
Mr Atkinson, who last saw the ex-footballer three weeks ago, told reporters: “He had some health issues that he was trying to get through and that’s why his heart was weak”.
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Some 19% (1,921) were discharges – down 3% from the previous year.
