Tributes poured in for former English premier league striker Dalian Atkinson on Monday (Monday night NZ Time) after he died when police fired a high-voltage Taser stun-gun at him during an incident in his home town.
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Forensic officers were at the property in question in Telford today and the road remained cordoned off.
Fans are being encouraged to bring along their brollies to tomorrow’s home game against Huddersfield after Atkinson, 48, died having been Tasered by police.
According to The Mirror, Ernest Atkinson said his son was upset before another person phoned police.
“And because he continued to step forward once or twice – non-threatening – they deployed the Taser”, Quinn said. Quinn told The Guardian that Atkinson went down “like a lead balloon” after being shocked. I can only assume the man was now subdued. “I haven’t had any sleep and can not take it in”.
According to neighbors, Atkinson was a fixture in the neighborhood, making frequent visits.
He got Dad by the throat and said he was going to kill him. He was friendly, he had no trouble that I know of’.
An ambulance spokesman said while he was being taken to Princess Royal Hospital in the Shropshire town he suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at hospital.
He scored the club’s first ever goal in the Premier League on August 15, 1992, and won the league’s inaugural competition’s goal-of-the-season competition as Villa finished second.
In 1994, the striker scored at Wembley as Villa beat Manchester United to lift the League Cup.
Starting his career at Ipswich he went on to play for Ron Atkinson at Sheffield Wednesday in 1989 for one season only and was then sold to Spanish side Real Sociedad, before moving to Villa.
The case immediately touched off a debate about the use of Tasers in a country where police rarely carry guns.
The death is now under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), the police watchdog who investigate all instances when a Taser is used.
In a statement the force said: “Upon arrival Taser was deployed and a 48-year-old man, who subsequently received medical attention, was pronounced dead at approximately 3am”.
West Mercia Police said in a statement Monday that an independent investigation has been launched into the death of a man who was shot by police with a Taser.
“Since this morning IPCC investigators have been conducting house-to-house enquiries in the immediate area and gathering available information”.
Now, witnesses are saying the police deployed their stun gun “multiple times”.
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It follows the death of ex-soldier Spencer Beynon in June, after he was Tasered by police in Llanelli, South Wales, after stabbing a dog and then himself.
