Pc who unlawfully killed footballer Dalian Atkinson sacked by West Mercia Police

The police constable jailed for the manslaughter of ex-footballer Dalian Atkinson has been sacked by West Mercia Police after a misconduct hearing.

Benjamin Monk was dismissed in his absence at the "special case" hearing, held in Worcester, and chaired by West Mercia Police Chief Constable Anthony Bangham.

The hearing was convened to consider an allegation of discreditable conduct, after the judge who jailed Monk ruled he used unlawful force carrying "a high risk of really serious injury."

On Wednesday 23 June, the jury at Birmingham Crown Court found PC Monk guilty of manslaughter, but cleared him of murder.

The nine-week trial heard he had kicked 48-year old Mr Atkinson in the head at least twice after he was tasered to the ground.

The former Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town star died in hospital after losing consciousness following his arrest near his childhood home in Meadow Close, Telford, Shropshire, in August 2016.

According to the charity Inquest, Monk is the first police officer in England and Wales to be found guilty of unlawful killing over a death in custody or following police contact since 1986.

During Monk's sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, it emerged that he had kept his job in 2011 despite having failed to mention two criminal cautions on his application to join the force.

The court was told that two cautions issued to him in 1997 and 1999 - for theft from a shop during a summer holiday job, and for being found drunk - were not disclosed on his application papers in 2001.

Disciplinary proceedings took place in 2011, at which Monk was found to have committed gross misconduct, breaching standards for honesty, and was given a final written warning for a period of 18 months.

The previous gross misconduct case led relatives of Mr Atkinson to claim Monk"should never have been working for the police" when he used the unreasonable force which killed him.

At Friday's hearing, Monk's lawyer Patrick Gibbs QC, said his client accepted the force has "no alternative" to the dismissal.