he d made his name scoring goals. this one, perhaps his most famous, was a premier league goal of the season, but dalian atkinson died in august 2016 aged just a8, killed by a police officer. a disciplinary panel heard how pc benjamin monk and pc mary ellen bettley smith, who were in a relationship at the time, had responded to a 999 call. they arrived outside mr atkinson s father s home in telford in shropshire to find the ex footballer appearing in what was described as the grip of a psychotic episode . pc monk was jailed for manslaughter in 2021, having tasered mr atkinson and kicked him in the head. the panel heard that while pc bettley smith was not responsible for his death, she repeatedly struck the former aston villa player with her baton. previously, the panel had been told she perceived that he was trying to get up. but several civilian witnesses recalled that mr atkinson was not moving and was not resistant.