A policeman who Tasered ex-footballer Dalian Atkinson and then kicked him twice in the head has been cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court took 18 hours and 48 minutes to reach unanimous verdicts on Pc Benjamin Monk, who claimed he was put in fear of his life by the former Aston Villa Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich star on August 15 2016.
Jurors are still deliberating on an assault charge relating to Monk’s colleague and former girlfriend, Pc Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith.
Monk told the court he ran in fear after Atkinson, who appeared to be having a mental health crisis, made death threats and smashed a glass door pane at his childhood home in Meadow Close, Telford, Shropshire.
The 43-year-old officer claimed the former Premier League star was trying to get up when he aimed kicks at his shoulder in lawful self-defence as a last resort, after running out of Taser cartridges.
