Two police officers to be interviewed over death of Dalian Atkinson
|
Version 0 of 1. Two police officers being investigated following the Tasering and death of Dalian Atkinson will be interviewed within days under criminal caution, investigators have said. The two officers will be interviewed as potential suspects by the end of next week at the latest, the Independent Police Complaints Commission confirmed. Atkinson, a former Premier League football star, died after a clash with police during which he was shot with a Taser electric weapon outside his father’s home in Telford, Shropshire. A criminal inquiry into the death of the 48-year-old will take nine months and forensic investigations are continuing into the cause of death. A significant stage in the investigation is the interviewing of the officers by the IPCC. A spokesperson for the IPCC said: “Our independent investigation into the death of Dalian Atkinson is expected to take around nine months. We recognise there is significant public interest and while we will carry out the investigation as swiftly as possible, we need to ensure it is thorough and robust. “Interviews under criminal caution with two West Mercia police officers will take place shortly.” The two officers have been suspended from duty and issued with notices they are being investigated for gross misconduct. The IPCC has stressed that its decision to launch a criminal investigation does not mean the officers did anything wrong. The former Aston Villa footballer died after police Tasered him three times last Monday. Efforts to save him by medics, including 35 minutes of CPR, did not work. Some eyewitnesses claimed Atkinson was struck by officers while he was on the ground. One told the media that she saw what she believed was Atkinson being kicked by police. The key issues in the criminal investigation will be whether the decision to use force was justified and then whether the level of force was proportionate to Atkinson’s behaviour. Atkinson’s brother, Kenroy, 53, previously said the ex-footballer had undergone dialysis for kidney failure and was “in a manic state” and depressed at the time of the incident. He said his brother had attacked their 85-year-old father, Ernest, at his home before police were called to the scene. West Mercia police said officers used a Taser at about 1.30am on Monday after responding to reports of concerns for a person’s safety. Officers attended after a call from a neighbour who heard raised voices. Atkinson was pronounced dead 90 minutes after the Taser was fired. A postmortem examination was held last Wednesday and the cause of death was inconclusive. |