Dalian Atkinson killer PC Benjamin Monk was experienced Taser user

West Mercia Police officer Benjamin Monk was first trained to use a Taser in 2010

The police officer who killed Dalian Atkinson was an experienced Taser user.

PC Benjamin Monk tried three times to taser the ex-footballer and kicked him twice in the head during the stand-off.

On the third occasion, when the stun gun was successfully fired, he held the trigger down for 33 seconds - six times longer than a standard deployment.

The 43-year-old, who has been jailed for eight years, is the first officer in England or Wales to be convicted of manslaughter as a result of police contact in more than 30 years.

Mr Atkinson died shortly after the early-hours altercation outside his father's house in Telford in August 2016.

This week it emerged that in 2011 Monk was found guilty of gross misconduct and given a final written warning for not declaring offences committed before he joined the police.

A West Mercia Police disciplinary hearing found he had failed to disclose a caution for theft in 1997 - while employed at Woolworths - and another after he was found drunk in 1999. These were breaches of the required standards for honesty and integrity.

The six-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court was told Monk grew up in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, and lived at home until he was 25.

Dalian Atkinson, who had underlying health conditions, went into cardiac arrest and died in hospital after the altercation

He said: "My dad, he started life in the RAF and he became an architect.

"Mom was in an administration role and worked within the district council in the local area."

He went to school in Shrewsbury and then Bridgnorth before going on to do a diploma in sports science at Shrewsbury College.

In 2002 he joined West Mercia Police, aged 22, and spent his first seven years serving in Ludlow.

Later, in 2010, he joined its force operations support team and was trained to use a Taser.

He told the court: "It's a dynamic unit where we have to deal with, the majority of the time, traffic incidents where we're involved with, unfortunately, fatalities and serious collisions, but we also have to offer support to response officers who didn't have Tasers.

"We were [the] backup team for incidents that were more serious."

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In 2013 he moved to Telford's Malinsgate police station, where he joined the 25-strong response team. He was given a Taser refresher course in 2016.

And police records show he drew it four times that year, before the encounter with Mr Atkinson.

But on each of those four occasions the subject had been compliant and the electric stun weapon was not fired.

Jurors could not reach a verdict about PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith, who was charged with assaulting Mr Atkinson with her baton

The jury heard that in the early hours of 15 August 2016, Monk and another officer - PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith - were sent to Mr Atkinson's father's house in Meadow Close.

The officers, who the court was told were in a relationship at the time, were responding to reports the former Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town striker had been acting erratically.

Monk told the court he had run in fear after Mr Atkinson, who appeared to be having a mental health crisis, had made death threats and smashed a glass door pane.

Monk fired his Taser three times at Mr Atkinson, twice unsuccessfully. But on the third occasion he overrode the system, holding down the trigger for 33 seconds - more than six times the standard deployment.

The PC kicked Mr Atkinson twice in the head, leaving bootlace marks on his forehead and the former striker's blood on the officer's footwear.

During the six-week trial, Monk claimed his actions were lawful self-defence and his defence barrister said it was the only time he had been so frightened he had run away from a suspect.

But the jury at Birmingham Crown Court found him guilty of manslaughter, while clearing him of an alternative charge of murder.

West Mercia Police Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Jones said a fast-track misconduct process would be carried out following Monk's conviction

Jurors failed to reach a verdict in the case of PC Bettley-Smith, 31, who was accused of assaulting Mr Atkinson with a police baton.

Following the verdict, West Mercia Police Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Jones apologised to Mr Atkinson's family and said the force did not "underestimate the impact of the case" and would "work hard to build and maintain the trust and confidence" of the communities it served.

She said a fast-track misconduct process would be carried out following Monk's conviction.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), she said, had made a number of recommendations following Mr Atkinson's death, which had been implemented.

Speaking after Monk's conviction, the IOPC's Derrick Campbell said: "It is the first time in over 30 years in this country that a police officer has been convicted for manslaughter in the course of their duties.

"The death of any person at the hands of the police is a tragedy and today's decision is something which I hope police forces nationally will reflect on."