Dalian Atkinson Taser death:

stevie1969

Well-Known Member
A serving police officer has been charged with murder in connection with the death of former Aston Villa footballer, Dalian Atkinson, who died after being Tasered in a Telford street in August 2016 .
The Pc from the West Mercia force has been charged with one count of murder while another officer has been charged with assault causing actual bodily harm.
Mr Atkinson, 48, suffered a heart attack and after being Tasered after police were called to a minor disturbance.
His family later revealed that he had been suffering from kidney problems which may have weakened his heart, leaving him more susceptible to cardiac arrest.
Jenny Hopkins from the CPS said: “Following the death of Dalian Atkinson in Telford on Aug 15, 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service has today authorised a charge of murder against a West Mercia police constable.
"A second police constable, from the same force, has been charged with assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH). Mr Atkinson’s family has been informed.
"This decision was made following a careful review of all the evidence presented to us by the Independent Office for Police Conduct following an investigation."
Neither officer has been named as it is understood an application for anonymity will be made when they appear in court later today.
The officer charged with murder has also been charged with unlawful act manslaughter as an alternative offence which, the CPS said, "is a lesser offence that a jury may consider if it first finds that the more serious charge has not been proved".
A spokesman for the Independent Office for Police Conduct initially carried out an investigation into the circumstances of Mr Atkinson's death before passing a file of evidence to the CPS.
Speaking on behalf of the family of Mr Atkinson, solicitor Kate Maynard, of Hickman and Rose, said: "Dalian's family welcomes the decision to put the conduct of police officers before a jury but regrets that already more than three years have passed since Dalian died.
"They ask for their privacy to be respected and press for the criminal proceedings to progress without delay or obstruction."
Born in Shrewsbury, Mr Atkinson was an exciting centre forward who made a name for himself at Aston Villa, scoring the opening goal in the side’s 1994 Coca Cola Cup win over Manchester United at Wembley.
He scored 36 goals in 114 appearances for Villa but injury meant his career stalled and in 1995 he moved the Turkish side Fenerbahce.
He also had spells in Saudi Arabia and South Korea before retiring in 1999 and returning to the Midlands where he set up a sports consultancy business.
 
Seems a bit strange based on the article I read earlier.

It mentioned that Atkinson was in a manic state threatening to kill his dad and saying he had killed his brother.

I guess it depends on when he was tasered like if he had been brought under control and calmed down then tasered.

My guess that it would likely be something like this that has brought such charges.
 
My guess that it would likely be something like this that has brought such charges.


That article is from when it happened. Sounds like there has been information that has been left out of newly obtained for someone to be charged with murder.
 
I can't see how they will convince any jury that the officer in question set out to murder him. If tasers are so deadly and there's a risk of death if you've got heart problems they shouldn't be issued in the first place. Especially if you're going to then charge PCs when people die after using them.

A lot less deadly than a firearm.
 
It seems extremely harsh however the prosecution must feel they have enough to liable the charge so there will probably be more to it, rather than just an erratic dangerous male being tasered.

If someone is tasered in Scotland then they have to be taken straight to hospital so they can be checked out by doctors. I'm not sure if it's the same in England but maybe this hasn't been done and it's the lack of care after him being tasered that's brought about the charge.

Either way the whole story will come out during the trial.
 
Were you there? No you were not.

CPS don't put a murder charge on anything without decent enough evidence to back it up. Let's see what the courts decide.

Based on the fact I don't think someone serving in the British police would set out with an intention to kill someone in broad daylight.

Maybe went OTT during the arrest but an actual intent to murder I find doubtful.
 

That article is from when it happened. Sounds like there has been information that has been left out of newly obtained for someone to be charged with murder.

It's a curious one and very sad for all involved, really.

CPS must think that the charged officer knew enough to think that discharging the taser would likely result in loss of life or like you said, he was already calmed or 'under control'.
 
Seems a strange one. 3 years for investigation, family admit other medical issues could have played a factor, guy was manic. Surely the cops responding would have body cams, especially when using taser. If the cops are clearly in the wrong then fair play, they shouldn't get away with causing someones death, if they have followed protocols and this is a fishing expedition, the police would have every right to down tools and let everyone fend for themselves.
 
I don't understand this at all. There must be further information to come out that hasn't already been disclosed by the family.

He said his brother had attacked their 85-year-old father, Ernest, at his home on Monday before police were called to the scene.

"My brother had lost it. He was in a manic state and depressed - out of his mind and ranting. He had a tube in his shoulder for the dialysis and he had ripped it out and was covered in blood," he told the newspaper.

"He got Dad by the throat and said he was going to kill him. He told Dad he had already killed me, our brother Paul and sister Elaine and he had come for him.

So the police turn up here see a man covered in blood who's attacked an old man and has said he has already killed three others. What are they meant to do?
 
If someone is tasered in Scotland then they have to be taken straight to hospital so they can be checked out by doctors. I'm not sure if it's the same in England but maybe this hasn't been done and it's the lack of care after him being tasered that's brought about the charge.

Either way the whole story will come out during the trial.

No they don’t .
 
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of somebody being charged with two variations of the same offence like that. The law is slightly different in Scotland, but what you sometimes get is the accused originally charged with murder and it is eventually reduced to culpable homicide(manslaughter in England). They are never charged with both at the same time though. Strange one.
 
There must be some evidence to support the indictment and, no doubt, that will come out at trial.

"This decision was made following a careful review of all the evidence presented to us by the Independent Office for Police Conduct following an investigation."

We invest the police with tremendous power and authority. For that reason they should be held accountable if they stray from the highest standards of professionalism and integrity. If these officers did not act properly in using the taser then they should answer for that.
 
The incident was three years ago, and there was no complaints from the family at the time

Has there been a new head of the CPS since then?
 
Id be looking at the Atkinson “might have had a weak heart” line.
Did the officer know this?

Doesn't matter. The legal principal translates from latin as "you must take your victim as you find him". It's well held and long established in cases where a victim refused a life saving transfusion on religious grounds or where a victim died due to injuries sustained from an undiagnosed soft skull. The really famous ones typically involve a punch where the victim falls, hits the back of their head, has a weakened skull and subsequently dies of their skull/brain injuries.

The stronger argument would be that for murder you'd typically need to show a guilty action and a guilty intent (Actus Reus and Mens Rea). For manslaughter (or culpable homicide in Scotland) you need not demonstrate the guilty intent. You then get into the realms of voluntary or involuntary depending on whether there was an intent to harm that fell short of an intent to kill.
 
I wonder if it is like that case in Scotland of the guy (can’t remember his name, African sounding) in which he was full of drugs, acting aggressively, had a knife, yet the police were under fire for him unfortunately dying when restrained.
 
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