A 48-year-old man who died after being Tasered by police in the early hours of this morning has been named locally as former Aston Villa player Dalian Atkinson.
Officers from West Mercia Police were called to a home in Telford at around 1.30am this morning amid concerns ‘for the safety of an individual’.
When they arrived, a Taser was used on Atkinson. The ex-footballer received medical attention but was pronounced dead at approximately 3am.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: ‘I had known him since he was a little boy, he was a famous footballer at one time. He was friendly, he had no trouble that I know of.’
West Mercia Police said the force was unable to comment any further as the incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission as per normal procedure.
The force said it would assist the IPCC with their enquiries.
The incident follows the death of ex-soldier Spencer Beynon in June. He was Tasered by police in Llanelli, South Wales, after stabbing a dog and then himself.
Friends said he had suffered mental health problems after leaving the military.
Last year police use of Tasers, which are intended as a non-lethal weapon, went up slightly towards the end of 2015 with 10,329 uses by forces in England and Wales, a 2 per cent rise on the previous year.
However, of those, 19 per cent (1,921) were discharges; a decrease of 3 per cent from the previous year.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘We were called by West Mercia Police to an address in Meadow Close in the Trench area of Telford at about 1.45am this morning.
‘An ambulance was dispatched and upon arrival found a man who had been Tasered.
‘As he was being conveyed to Princess Royal Hospital, his condition deteriorated and he went into cardiac arrest.
‘Despite the efforts of the crew and hospital staff, it was not possible to save him and he was confirmed dead at hospital, shortly after arrival.’
dailymail.co.uk
