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Eight Years For Police Officer Who Killed Dalian Atkinson
Tuesday, 29th Jun 2021 15:15

Benjamin Monk, the police officer who was convicted of the manslaughter of former Town striker Dalian Atkinson last week, has been jailed for eight years.

Atkinson died aged 48 in the early hours of Monday 15th August 2016 having been repeatedly Tasered and kicked by Monk in an incident outside his father Ernest’s house in the Trench area of Telford.

Monk was sentenced by Judge Melbourne Inman QC at Birmingham Crown Court earlier today.

The 43-year-old, who had been with the West Mercia force since 2002, became the first British police officer to be convicted of manslaughter during the course of his duties in more than three decades when he was found guilty last on Wednesday of last week.

“You have let yourself and the force down,” Judge Inman said. “Although they were difficult, you failed to act appropriately in the circumstances as they developed, and you used a degree of force in delivering two kicks to the head, which was excessive and which were a cause of Mr Atkinson’s death.

“The obvious aggravating factor is that you committed this offence while on duty as a police officer.”

Earlier this week it emerged that Monk had been found guilty of gross misconduct in 2011 and given a final warning having failed to declare cautions for theft and being found drunk prior to joining the force.

In a statement, Atkinson’s siblings Paul, Kenroy, Elaine and Otis, said: “PC Monk used horrendous violence against Dalian, who was in an extremely vulnerable position, in mental health crisis, and needed help.

“This was a callous attack and a terrible abuse of a police officer’s position of trust.

“He then failed to give a full and honest account of what happened, including at his trial.

“We are pleased that all these factors have been reflected in the sentence.

“We were shocked to learn that PC Monk was not sacked in February 2011 for gross misconduct for his dishonesty; he should never have been working for the police in August 2016 and Dalian should not have died.

“We pay tribute to all the bereaved families of black men who have died at the hands of the police and whose fight for justice has not led to successful prosecutions.

“It shouldn’t take the death of a famous footballer for the criminal justice system to work properly and we hope that more families can secure justice in future regardless of whether the deceased is a high-profile person.”

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on PC Mary-Ellen Bettley-Smith who was accused assaulting Atkinson with her baton.


Photo: ITFC



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BlueandTruesince82 added 15:25 - Jun 29
Life seems very cheap at that price. So many things about this are incredibly sad, the actions of the police, the light sentence but mostly that Dalian could not get the help he needed, clearly he had some mental health issues later in his life.

What a player he was, skilful, athletic. My first ITFC hero.

RIP big man, please justice has at least been seen to have been done.
14

Suffolkboy added 15:29 - Jun 29
Quite simply nowhere near long enough ,especially for a member of our Police Force entrusted and trained to take care ,be disciplined and trustworthy and to behave with cool heads in every situation !
The investigation was flawed , not thorough enough and it seems almost inevitable the eventual stories presented in Court were jointly conceived : after years of delay in prosecution this man has got off lightly ; society deserves better !
COYB
4

Edmundo added 15:32 - Jun 29
I'm shocked that he had failed to disclose cautions and yet was still allowed to run around with a potentially lethal weapon. RIP Dalian. Hope your family has some closure.
6

BlueandTruesince82 added 15:37 - Jun 29
Good point Suffolk boy.... often in such circumstances a record of (I use the term loosely here) public service is used in mitigation but in instances like this you have to feel that the full force should be brought to bear having catastrophically let down the public that one was sworn to protect...... even more so when considerd with past issues with this particular officer
6

Pezzer added 16:20 - Jun 29
I was fortunate to see Dalian play for us, incredible talent and such a tragic end to his life.
6

rfretwell added 16:42 - Jun 29
That is a ridiculously light sentence for taking someone's life. Dalian got everyone off their seats when he received the ball in anticipation of his pace and power scattering opponents. So sad we cant welcome him back to visit PR.
1

blues1 added 16:51 - Jun 29
I get why people are saying it's a light sentence, but he was found guilty of manslaughter, not murder. And while a judge can give a life sentence, the average sentence in the uk for manslaughter is 2-10 years. So this sentence is towards the top end of that scale.
6

michaeldownunder added 16:57 - Jun 29
I remember watching him live at Portman Road. such power and speed. Played with a big smile on his face. The hum from the crowed when he got the ball, people new something was going to happen, a bit like when the Beat got the ball.
3

OwainG1992 added 17:52 - Jun 29
8 years? Could be out in 4 I guess?
Hmm.
If it was a police officer who died in a similar way by a black man.
I do wonder.
1

therein61 added 18:01 - Jun 29
Fully deserved jail sentence but not long enough, but even if he does half of that his life inside will be hell he will have to sleep with one eye open and continually look over his shoulder on the stairs or wherever he walks, cons love nothing more than a copper to play with.
With hope Dalian's family feel some sort of justice has been done after such a tragic loss of life.
1

istanblue added 19:37 - Jun 29
8 years for a man who kicked DA so hard he ''left bootlace prints on his forehead'' is an utter disgrace #acab #justicefordalian
2

ronnyd added 19:42 - Jun 29
He'll really enjoy serving his time with nonce,s
0

timkatieadamitfc added 22:07 - Jun 29
I bet nothing happens to the women police officer who admitted to beating poor Dalian whilst he was down.
Kicked so hard it left boot lace marks on his head and tasered far longer than was necessary- regardless of whether he was an Ipswich player it is a fuc£ing disgrace- pair of bastardz deserve everything they may get
2

shropshiretractor added 23:06 - Jun 29
Phil, I suggest removing comments from this thread... With idiots such as Istanblue and OwainG1992, it's best removing their primative posts, or filtering posts just to leave posts such as michaeldownunder's.
-7

Eddie1985 added 03:41 - Jun 30
Not really sure how the comment woke Britain relates to the state employing a convicted thug who abused the power he was given to kill another human being. He should have an uplift in sentencing for abuse of power, its worse than if a civilian acted that way as he was trusted with a position of power and abused it. he fact he could be out in 4 tears after ending a man's life is a disgrace!!! Why should Phil remove comments??!! Is the truth to uncomfortable for some?? The fact is a former town player has been murdered by somebody acting on behalf of our government.... We should be angry
4

dirtydingusmagee added 08:15 - Jun 30
thats 7years too few imo.
1

Barty added 10:00 - Jun 30
Should have been double
1

Ipswichbusiness added 11:44 - Jun 30
As Blues1 says, he was convicted of manslaughter not murder.

We do not know the details of the conviction.

However, if you refer to the Crown Court sentencing guidelines for manslaughter due to loss of control, 8 years' imprisonment is the starting point for an offence of medium culpability.
0

atty added 15:43 - Jun 30
Sentence seems too lenient to me, given the circumstances as described. Disappointed that the family make reference to him being black. I say this as l do not recall any suggestion that this appalling attack was racially motivated, and if so it is not helpful in terms of racial harmony. I stand to be corrected if there was evidence of racism.
1

eddiespearitt03 added 04:05 - Jul 3
There was a very good chance the actual incident could have and should have been de-escalated. Maybe there should be trained mental health specialists on 24/7 cover. Possibly calling for an ambulance may have diffused this event. But no. Not when there is a history of very minimal accountability. It is the 100% head on collision tactics used by some police officers that results in a very poor outcome. . All that combat training and lack of compassion collides together, subsequently leading to an awful episode of poor decisions. I knew Dalian from arriving as a youth player and lodging in Bramford village before he made the Ipswich first team. . He was a really nice person and loved to joke and have a laugh. Probably time for better training for all police officers to be more informed in mental health situations rather than just going into attack mode. Rest in Peace Dalian.
0


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