Pc who used excessive force on ex-footballer Dalian Atkinson allowed to keep her job

A police constable has kept her job despite being found guilty by a disciplinary panel of gross misconduct for using excessive force when she repeatedly hit an ex-footballer with her baton after he was Tasered to the ground.

Published Mar 17, 2023

Last updated Mar 17, 2023

Pc Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith leaves Birmingham Crown Court after she was acquitted on the charges of assaulting footballer Dalian Atkinson before his death in August 2016

An independent tribunal found on Friday that Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith, a West Mercia Police officer, acted wrongly when she struck Dalian Atkinson three times with her police-issue baton during an incident in the early hours of August 15 2016, after which the ex-sportsman died.

The panel could have sacked Bettley-Smith, a University of Hull graduate originally from Staffordshire, without notice but instead handed her a final written warning.