Officers face interview over death of star striker Dalian Atkinson
Two police officers being investigated following the Tasering and death of a former Premier League football star are expected to be interviewed within days under criminal caution.
Aug 25, 2016
By Nick Hudson
Two police officers being investigated following the Tasering and death of a former Premier League football star are expected to be interviewed within days under criminal caution.
The constables, serving with West Mercia Police, will be interviewed as potential suspects “by the end of next week at the latest”, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has announced.
Dalian Atkinson, who played at the highest level in six different countries during his long career, died 90 minutes after being shot three times with a Taser by police outside his fathers home in Telford, Shropshire on August 15.
Officers had been called after receiving reports that people were concerned for the safety of a person.
A criminal inquiry into the death of the 48-year-old are expected to take nine months and forensic investigations are continuing into the cause of death. A significant stage in the investigation is the interviewing of the officers, says the IPCC.
A spokesperson for the IPCC said: We recognise there is significant public interest and while we will carry out the investigation as swiftly as possible, we need to ensure it is thorough and robust.
Interviews under criminal caution with two West Mercia Police officers will take place shortly.
The two officers have been suspended from duty and issued with notices they are being investigated for gross misconduct as the IPCC launched its criminal inquiry.
Some eyewitnesses claimed Mr Atkinson was struck by officers while he was on the ground. One told the media that she saw what she believed was the ex-footballer being kicked by police.
Mr Atkinsons brother, Kenroy, 53, previously said the top-flight striker had undergone dialysis for kidney failure and was in a manic state and depressed at the time of the incident.
He said his brother had attacked their 85-year-old father, Ernest, at his home before police were called to the scene.
West Mercia Police said officers used a Taser at about 1.30am. The retired sportsman went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance on his way to hospital and medics were unable to save him. He was pronounced dead around 3am.
Doctors battled in vain for 35 minutes to save Mr Atkinson, an inquest into his death has heard.
Coroner`s officer Julie Hartridge told the inquest at Shirehall in Shrewsbury medics at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford gave CPR to the retired striker for more than half an hour.
The inquest was adjourned until November 22 after post-mortem tests failed to establish the cause of death.
Mr Atkinson was a feared striker in the 1990s, with a goal for league runners-up Aston Villa against Wimbledon, which followed a mazy run from inside his own half, being voted 1992/1993 BBC Match of the Day goal of the season.
His career highlight came in 1994 at Wembley when he scored in Villas League Cup win over Manchester United.
Starting his career at Ipswich he played for Sheffield Wednesday and in La Liga for Spanish side Real Sociedad before moving to Villa where he scored 38 goals in 114 appearances.
After Villa, Mr Atkinson joined Turkish club Fenerbahce and then finished his career in England at Manchester City.
He played in the French Ligue 1 for Metz, in Saudi Arabia for Al-lttihad and finally hung up his boots in 2001 in the Korean K-League after spells with Daejeon Citizen and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.