Former English soccer star Dalian Atkinson has been tased to death by police according to reports from BBC and The Guardian.
In a scene that sounds too familiar to African Americans, a Black Englishman has been killed by police. Except this time a chokehold nor gunshot did the deed. It was a taser.
The Guardian reports:
The former Aston Villa footballer Dalian Atkinson has died after police Tasered him near his father’s home in Telford.
West Mercia police said a 48-year-old man had died. It is understood the man was Atkinson, who also played for Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town. He is believed to have been visiting his 85-year-old father, Ernest.
The force said officers fired a Taser at about 1.30am on Monday after responding to reports of concerns for a person’s safety. The man failed to respond to medical attention and was pronounced dead 90 minutes later.
The incident was automatically referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) as it involved a death caused by police officers. West Mercia police said it was assisting the IPCC with its investigation and was unable to comment further.
Witnesses to the confrontation say that they heard screaming outside just moments before they saw police tase Atkinson, who they say fell “like a lead balloon.”
Atkinson retired from soccer in 2001 but many have taken to social media to offer their condolences and express confusion and anger. Many neighbors have said that Atkinson visited the neighborhood often and that kids always rushed to see him and his car.
Many remember Atkinson from a goal he scored in 1992 against Wimbledon. Many have referred to it as the “goal of the season.”
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