The police commander at the Hillsborough football stadium disaster was on Thursday found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter over the deaths of 95 Liverpool fans crushed on the terraces.
The victims’ families fought a decades-long campaign to see David Duckenfield prosecuted over the 1989 disaster — Britain’s worst sporting tragedy with an eventual death toll of 96.
But the 75-year-old retired chief superintendent was cleared by a jury following a six-week trial at Preston Crown Court in northwest England.
Some in the public gallery gasped as the jury foreman returned the verdict.
The tragedy happened on April 15, 1989 at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, held at the neutral venue of Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough ground.
The 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death on the standing terrace at the Leppings Lane end of the stadium.
The response to Hillsborough dramatically changed the experience of attending top-flight football matches in England. All-seater stadiums were made mandatory in the 1990s.
