A police commander who was on trial for his role in one of football world’s worst disasters 30 years ago has been found not guilty on Thursday.
A police commander who was on trial for his role in one of football world’s worst disasters 30 years ago has been found not guilty on Thursday.
David Duckenfield, 75, has been found not guilty of gross negligence and manslaughter over the deaths of 95 football fans who were killed in Hillsborough Stadium during a semifinal cup game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest clubs in 1989.
Former chief superintendent Duckenfield, who was the match commander on the day of disaster, was charged with the manslaughter of 95 people by gross negligence.
He was not charged related to a 96th victim, who died more than a year after the incident due to injuries he had sustained during the incident.
An inquest into the incident in Sheffield concluded the fans had been “unlawfully killed”.
The majority verdict from the jury at Preston Crown Court marked a big setback for the bereaved families who have campaigned for justice over the past 30 years.
The 1989 incident happened when a stampede crushed Liverpool fans after one of the gates into the stadium opened in a crowd-easing measure to let people pour into already crowded stands.
The coroner’s inquest in 1991 ruled the deaths were accidental; however, the second inquest in 2016 said the fans were “unlawfully killed”.