Dalian Atkinson’s death raises fresh concerns over Tasers

The death of former Aston Villa footballer Dalian Atkinson after he was reportedly Tasered three times by the police has raised renewed concerns about police use of the weapon.

The 48-year-old died about 90 minutes after an incident involving two officers in the Trench areas of Telford, Shropshire, outside his father's home.

The Sun reported that Atkinson shouted: “It’s not working,” when he was first struck by a Taser and police then allegedly fired two more rounds of the 50,000-volt shock. Campaigners accused the police of using excessive force and said the incident raised issues about policing and race.

According to relatives, Atkinson was suffering from a weak heart and mental health problems. His brother, Kenroy (53), said the former Premier League player had undergone dialysis for kidney failure and was “not in his right mind”.

He said his brother had attacked their 85-year-old father, Ernest, at his home on Monday before police were called to the scene.

“My brother had lost it. He was in a manic state and depressed – out of his mind and ranting. He had a tube in his shoulder for the dialysis and he had ripped it out and was covered in blood,” he told the Sun. “He got Dad by the throat and said he was going to kill him. He told Dad he had already killed me, our brother, Paul, and sister, Elaine, and he had come for him. He was not in his right mind.”

Atkinson’s death, the 11th linked to the use of Tasers by the police in the last decade, is now under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Excessive force

Sophie Khan

, legal and policy director at the Police Action Centre, who specialises in Taser injuries, questioned why a Taser was used. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she said: “If the man has been Tasered three times, that is excessive use of force, and that is probably the reason he subsequently died. There should be a life-threatening incident before Tasers should be used. If in this incident there was no knife or gun or any weapon or any threat to the officer which they could deal with in the conventional ways, then the Taser should not have been used.”

She called for more rigorous training similar to the level used for firearms, before officers could be allowed to carry Tasers. “The regulations for Tasers are not strong enough and the training is not up to standard where we can be confident Tasers will be used safely,” she said.

Atkinson’s death has also prompted fresh concern about policing and race and particularly the way police deal with black people with mental health conditions. Black people are three times more likely to have a Taser used against them by police than white people, according to figures released last year by the home office.

UK Black Lives Matter, a new campaign launched earlier this month and inspired by the US movement, said the disproportionate use of Tasers against black people showed the police were still institutionally racist.

In a statement it said: "More than two-thirds of police Taser uses have been against people with mental health issues. This is likely to disproportionately affect black people who are 17 times more likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic illness. The tragic death of Dalian Atkinson and at least 10 other such cases in England and Wales over the last decade show, all too often Taser use is fatal.

“Even when Taser use is not fatal, the delivery of a 50,000-volt shock for the purposes of incapacitation is a cruel and degrading form of punishment. We consider its disproportionate use against black people as indicative of police institutional racism.”

Raising awareness

Kevin Maxwell

, a former detective with Greater Manchester police and founder of Racism Ruins Lives, said: “I’ve not blamed the police, I am simply saying this death and those before it are why Black Lives Matter is important. It’s about raising awareness, and seeing if there is a problem between policing and race in these deaths.”

Zita Holbourne, co-founder of the campaign Black Activists Rising Against Cuts, said: "Atkinson was known locally by people in the community. From what he is alleged to have said and the way he was acting ought to have been clear signs of a mental and/or physical health breakdown."

She added: "There are steps and measures that police are supposed to take where somebody shows signs of a mental health condition. Obviously we will have to await the outcome of the IPCC investigation for more information but it demonstrates that lessons have not been learned following the inquest into the deaths Sean Rigg in police custody who also had a mental health condition."

“Police forces should be upholding the law and protecting people, not causing their deaths.”

West Mercia police have yet to respond to reports that Atkinson was Tasered three times. It referred all queries to the IPCC.

Guardian service