The police officer accused of murdering Dalian Atkinson lied and exaggerated the danger the former footballer posed in a late-night confrontation and concocted a false story with his then lover to justify his excessive force, a court has heard. PC Benjamin Monk, 43, denies that his firing of a stun-gun current into Atkinson for 33 seconds and then kicking him at least twice in his head amounts to murder or manslaughter. Monk was cross-examined on Thursday before a jury at Birmingham crown court, where he is on trial alongside PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith, 31, who denies assaulting Atkinson. The officers from the West Mercia force attended a disturbance just after 1.30am on 15 August 2016 in Telford, Shropshire, and came face to face with Atkinson. Seventy minutes after the clash, Atkinson was pronounced dead. Monk and Bettley-Smith were in a relationship at the time, the jury has heard. Monk denied being “humiliated” in front of his then partner, having told the court he was so scared he ran away twice and feared he would die after taunts from Atkinson that he was the “messiah” and would take him “to the gates of hell”. Under cross-examination by the prosecutor, Alexandra Healy QC, Monk accepted neither he nor Bettley-Smith had been touched by Atkinson during the six-minute incident, when Monk’s stun gun at first failed to fell the former footballer despite repeated firings. Monk said he and Bettley-Smith were spending some nights together as the relationship, which started in 2015, developed between the police veteran, who joined in 2002, and Bettley-Smith, then a probationary officer. Healy said that as they realised how serious the situation was after Atkinson’s death, they made up or exaggerated key events. Monk says he kicked Atkinson, 48, fearing Atkinson would get up and kill him. But Healy claimed that was false, adding: “You and she agreed to pretend that Mr Atkinson was trying to get up in order to justify your and her excessive force.” Monk denied this. Monk denied telling his junior colleague to strike Atkinson on the ground. Healy said: “I suggest you encouraged Ms Bettley-Smith to also get involved in attacking Mr Atkinson while he was down by saying ‘fucking hit him’.” Monk replied: “I didn’t say those words and didn’t encourage Ellie to do that.” Healy said: “You had taken out your anger on Mr Atkinson in a wholly unprofessional and unlawful way, hadn’t you?” “Absolutely not,” replied Monk, as he denied a series of claims the prosecutor put to him, saying the incident had left him the most scared he had been in his life. Monk in his evidence had said he thought he fired the stun gun for a few seconds, not for 33 seconds, and claimed not to remember kicking Atkinson in the head, saying it was the shoulder he struck, but forensic evidence showed otherwise. Healy said: “You have deliberately sought to lie about those kicks and the length of your Taser discharges?” “Absolutely not,” replied Monk. Under cross-examination, Monk accepted the evidence from officers who rushed to the scene as reinforcements. They say they saw Monk with his foot on Atkinson’s head as he lay on the ground. Monk declined to challenge the evidence of a colleague who said that immediately after the incident the officer had said: “I had to kick him in the head.” Healy said Monk made up the story about kicking Atkinson in the shoulder when faced with the evidence. The prosecutor said: “I suggest, Mr Monk, you had kicked Mr Atkinson in the head, because that is what you had chosen to do, not once or twice …” Monk replied: “I would not choose to kick Mr Atkinson in the head,” adding: “There was no conscious decision of mine to kick Mr Atkinson in the head.” The relationship between the two officers ended in 2018 and Monk said they remained good friends. The trial continues.