Police officer who struck ex-footballer Dalian Atkinson used "excessive force"
A police officer who struck former footballer Dalian Atkinson with her baton as he lay dying outside his father’s house, is accused of using "excessive force" during the incident.
In a disciplinary hearing which began today, PC Mary-Ellen Bettley-Smith, known as Ellie, could face immediate dismissal if gross misconduct is proven.
The former Aston Villa striker was killed by PC Benjamin Monk who kicked him at least twice in the head, leaving a boot imprint on his skin in Telford, Shropshire.
The officer was jailed for eight years for manslaughter after his conviction at Birmingham Crown Court.
PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith – known as Ellie – accused of assaulting Dalian, was tried alongside Monk, after she delivered three blows from her police-issue baton but was acquitted after a retrial in 2022.
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However, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found there was a gross misconduct disciplinary case to answer.
Addressing the opening of that hearing today in Telford, Dijen Basu KC, bringing the case against Bettley-Smith, said “none" of the blows struck by the constable were "reasonable, necessary or proportionate."
PC Mary-Ellen Bettley-Smith (Anita Maric / SWNS)Mr Basu told the officer: "None of these blows was reasonable, necessary or proportionate, in the circumstances, either to defend yourself or another from Mr Atkinson or to effect his lawful arrest.
"All the blows were excessive.
“This conduct amounts to gross misconduct being so serious it amounts to a breach of standards of professional behaviour so serious, that dismissal will be justified.”
He added: “We say PC Bettley-Smith struck Mr Atkinson with her police-issue baton at least six times, with at least as much force as she could and each time, following each strike had the time and opportunity to reassess whether she needed to deliver another strike.”
He stressed Bettley-Smith’s blow “did not in any away contribute to the death of Mr Atkinson”, adding the hearing was “not about the death of Mr Atkinson”.
Mr Basu said: “In any event we say the force she used was unreasonable.”
Police constables Benjamin Monk and Bettley-Smith arriving at Birmingham Crown Court in 2019 (SWNS)At the 2021 trial, it emerged that Mr Atkinson had been in the grip of a psychotic episode in August 2016 when he went to his father’s house in the early hours of the morning.
He was suffering acute kidney failure, his heart was one and a half times its normal size, and any increase in its rate put him at great risk of death.
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PC Bettley-Smith and her colleague and then boyfriend PC Benjamin Monk had been called to reports of a man behaving bizarrely on a Telford housing estate in the early hours of August 15 2016.
Within four minutes of their arrival on the scene, Mr Atkinson had been tasered three times by PC Monk, the last one causing him to fall to the ground.
Bettley-Smith leaves Birmingham Crown Court after being acquitted of assault (PA)The misconduct hearing against PC Bettley-Smith has been brought by West Mercia’s Chief Constable and will be heard over five days at Telford’s Ramada Hotel.
A panel of three people, including a Chief Superintendent, an independent and chaired by the legally qualified Karimulla Khan, will decide if the use of force guideline was breached and, if so, what sanctions would be appropriate.
The 32-year-old officer, who has been suspended from operational duties since the incident, has twice stood trial for assault with one jury unable to make up its mind and a second trial producing a not guilty verdict.
Dijen Basu, representing her employers, West Mercia Police, explained that unlike at her criminal trials, the standard of proof for the hearing was on the balance of probabilities rather than beyond reasonable doubt.
He said her use of the baton was, "not proportionate or reasonable either to protect yourself, your colleagues, the public or to affect an arrest."
Bettley-Smith could face immediate dismissal from the force if gross misconduct is proven (SWNS)He said her actions had in no way caused the death of Mr Atkinson but added: "We say that three of these blows were delivered after Mr Atkinson had been kicked to the head by PC Monk.
"PC Bettley-Smith could not reasonably believe that she need to use force to defend herself.
"It amounts to a breach of professional behaviour in terms of use of force. This conduct is so serious a breach that dismissal will be justified."
PC Bettley-Smith's barrister Patrick Gibbs KC cast the incident in a very different light.
He said: "PC Bettley-Smith does not accept she conducted herself grossly and denies it breached the conduct of professional behaviour.
"She showed bravery under extreme pressure and was in no way responsible for the death of Mr Atkinson.
"She did her best in unusually challenging circumstances to contain and control Mr Atkinson, a normally peaceful man, who presented as an immediate danger to his father, the public, police officers and himself."
Victor Swinburne, a former RAF serviceman of 27 years, who lived in Meadow Close and witnessed the moment Monk kicked Mr Atkinson, attended the hearing to give evidence.
Dalian Atkinson had been tasered three times by PC Monk, the last one causing him to fall to the ground (Stewart Kendall/Sportsphoto Ltd)In a statement he gave, from October 2016, he described watching Atkinson Tasered to the ground.
He then watched Monk give a couple of “tenative kicks” to Mr Atkinson, before seeing the male officer “bring his right foot all the way back and gave him a final massive, powerful kick, using the toe of his right boot”.
He saw how Monk’s leg “snapped back and then straight forward as though kicking a football,” with the sort of force to move a ball up the field.
“I then saw the male’s head snap back violently,” he added.
Mr Swinburne said: “At the same time the female officer was striking the male with her extendable baton, hitting him three times to left kidney area.
“However, the male did not appear to make any movement, or protect himself from the strikes.
“Her strikes appeared to be forceful and firm, however not vicious in nature.”
An eyewitness who witnessed the attack said Mr Atkinson lay in the foetal position and that he did not appear to be a threat to officers as he wasn't moving (PA)Mr Swinburne said Mr Atkinson was “in the foetal position”, as the officers “then jumped on top of the male, leaned on the male, placing their own body weight on him, the male officer astride his torso, while the female officer sat astride his legs”.
“The male officer told the male (Mr Atkinson) to put his arms behind his back, but the male remained motionless.”
The eyewitness added: “The male started making some horrendous noises, I described them as a clear breathing difficulty noises.
“It was very loud, I was shocked how loud – like he couldn’t get any air into his lungs, he made it four times in total.”
Asked by Mr Basu if Dalian seemed a “threat to the officers”, after he was Tasered to the ground, Mr Swinburne replied: “No, because he wasn’t moving.”
The hearing continues.
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