Gross misconduct of 12 police blamed over Hillsborough disaster

AN investigation into the Hillsborough disaster has found 12 police officers would have faced gross misconduct proceedings for “fundamental failures” on the day and “concerted efforts” to wrongly blame fans in the aftermath.

- BY PAUL JEEVES Crime Editor

A report published yesterday, by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, also upheld or found cases to answer for misconduct in 92 complaints about police actions.

But the law at the time means no officers will face disciplinary proceedings because they had all retired before probes began.

Bitter

The law was changed in 2017 so ex-officers are now able to answer misconduct charges, but not retrospectively. All 12 retired before inquiries began in 2012.

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died after injuries from the FA Cup semifinal on April 15, 1989, when police opened an exit gate to alleviate crowding outside.