In recent months, cases of people killed by police with taser guns are becoming commonplace internationally. Often seen in the distance, however, the last case has disturbed the Basque Country, and especially Gipuzkoa: Dalian Atkinson is a 48-year-old man killed by police in Telford.

According to the West Marcia regional police station, a neighbor called about 1:30 a.m. in the vicinity of Atkinson’s parents’ home, saying “one person’s safety was at risk.” The police then shot Atkinson. Although the emergency services were doing recovery work for half an hour, he was given a heart attack on his way to the hospital and died there around 3:00 in the morning.

"Four or five shots and punches"

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the case, trying to find out why the police shot. According to the Commission’s sources, the “level of force used” will be key to carrying out the investigation. For his part, neighbor Paula Quinn told the BBC that the police shot four or five times, in addition to “constant beatings and kicks.”

According to the former player’s nephew Fabian, his uncle was undergoing dialysis treatment for some kidney problems: “Obviously, his heart was weakened,” he says. In addition, Fabian believes that every time the police have to use the taser, it would be necessary to have an ambulance nearby: “Who can guarantee the survival of those who have introduced so many volts in an unnatural way?”

Atkinson spent a year in the Real Sociedad in the 1990–1991 season. He was the first foreigner to be signed by the white and blue team in the modern era, along with Kevin Richardson and John Aldridge. The latter conveys his condolences to the Atkinson family, as well as to the Royals. Atkinson also performed at Aston Villa, among others, and fans of this band are preparing a tribute.

The impact of electric guns

Although initially the task of these guns is to immobilize people or animals, the discharge of the taser can lead to death, especially if it is directed to organs necessary for life. This type of gun can launch discharges that can reach up to 50,000 volts.

Over the past ten years, more than a hundred people in Wales and England have died as a result of downloads of such a device, according to local NGOs.