A female cop has been cleared of assaulting retired Aston Villa star Dalian Atkinson as he was Tasered and kicked to death by her fellow police officer boyfriend.
Pc Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith has been cleared at Birmingham Crown Court of assaulting Mr Atkinson prior to his death in Telford, Shropshire, in 2016, after telling jurors she struck him with a baton as a last resort.
Jurors deliberated for three hours and two minutes before acquitting Bettley-Smith, who struck Mr Atkinson three times with a baton after he was Tasered to the ground by Pc Benjamin Monk, who was jailed last year for manslaughter.