Hillsborough Disaster Inquiry Findings
An extensive inquiry into the tragic Hillsborough disaster has revealed that 12 police officials would have confronted serious gross misconduct allegations due to their significant inadequacies during the incident, as well as their post-event efforts to assign blame onto the fans. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) released its findings on Tuesday, citing that 92 complaints regarding police actions were substantiated or warranted further scrutiny for misconduct. However, due to a legal clause in effect at that time, none of the implicated officers can face disciplinary action since they had all retired by the time investigations commenced.
Background of Investigations
Following the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report, independent investigations led by the IOPC and the criminal inquiry named Operation Resolve were initiated in 2012. These investigations amounted to an expenditure exceeding £150 million (approximately $170.49 million). Solicitor Nicola Brook, representing several families of the deceased, expressed profound disappointment over the lack of accountability, labeling the situation a bitter injustice. She commented,
“This report may validate the struggles of bereaved families and supporters who have fought tirelessly to unveil the truth. However, true justice remains elusive.”
Brook lamented that the officers could retire without facing any repercussions, emphasizing that though legislative changes would prevent similar circumstances in the future, these amendments provide little consolation to those directly affected.
“Once again, they are met with the harsh reality that while the truth is finally recognized, accountability continues to be out of reach.”
Key Figures and Events
The report specifically identifies several key figures who would have faced gross misconduct charges, including Peter Wright, who was the chief constable of South Yorkshire Police at the time, as well as David Duckenfield, the match commander, and Sir Norman Bettison, who later served as the chief constable for Merseyside Police. The catastrophic event unfolded during the FA Cup semifinal on April 15, 1989, resulting in the tragic deaths of 97 Liverpool supporters due to significant crowd mismanagement.
Criticism of Police Actions
Kathie Cashell, deputy director general of the IOPC, stated that the victims, their families, and survivors endured a series of disappointments, emphasizing how South Yorkshire Police demonstrated both negligence in match preparations and a failure to manage the crisis effectively as it developed. Following the disaster, the force made deliberate attempts to misplace blame onto the fans, deepening the anguish of those left behind. She criticized an investigation led by West Midlands Police as “inexplicably narrow” that thwarted earlier opportunities to present these failures.
While including details on investigatory shortcomings, such as the biased approaches taken by police, the report indicates that Mervyn Jones and Michael Foster from West Midlands Police, who were responsible for the inquiry, did not meet necessary prosecutorial thresholds despite being referred to the Crown Prosecution Service. The IOPC noted that Duckenfield, who was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter in a 2019 jury ruling, presented a notably inadequate response to the crisis at Hillsborough, leading to allegations of misconduct on multiple fronts.
Conclusion and Aftermath
The washed-up narrative that fans caused the tragedy was unequivocally disproven in subsequent inquests, as evidenced by the 2016 ruling that classified the fans’ deaths as unlawful killings. Alongside Duckenfield, several other officers, including Bernard Murray and Walter Jackson, faced scrutiny for their roles in the events of that day. Even an officer’s erroneous claim that his horse sustained cigarette burns became a point of inquiry that was disproven during the investigation.
