Former Aston Villa striker Mr Atkinson died after being Tasered, kicked at least twice in the head and hit with a baton
A police constable is to keep her job despite being found guilty of gross misconduct by using excessive force when she repeatedly batoned ex-Aston Villa footballer Dalian Atkinson, who later died, a disciplinary panel has ruled.
The move came after the barrister who presented the case against her, Dijen Basu KC, said West Mercia’s Police’s Deputy Chief Constable had instructed that the panel be asked to consider the lesser sanction, as well as dismissal without notice. After Mr Atkinson was Tasered to the ground and kicked in the head by Monk, Ms Bettley-Smith used her baton on him, claiming she “perceived” he was trying to get up, although several civilian witnesses recalled the 48-year-old “was not moving” and “was not resistant”.
While the panel found three initial strikes – before Monk’s kicks – were “lawful”, it found Bettley-Smith’s decision to then hit Mr Atkinson another three times, after police back-up arrived, were “unnecessary, disproportionate and unreasonable in all the circumstances and therefore unlawful”.
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