Former South Yorkshire police chief superintendent David Duckenfield has been found not guilty of the Hillsborough manslaughters today.
Duckenfield commanded the police at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, at which 96 Liverpool fans died.
Duckenfield was charged in June 2017 following a new police investigation into the disaster, Operation Resolve, and verdicts of unlawful killing were returned by the jury at the 2014-16 inquests in Warrington.
The original 1991 inquest verdict of accidental death was quashed 21 years after this following a long campaign by bereaved families and the September 2012 Hillsborough Independent Panel report.
The court heard that at the match, a backlog built up at the turnstiles after the police, under Duckenfield’s command, did not manage fans’ approach with filters or cordons.
No successful measures were taken to alleviate the crush that developed that eventually saw the match abandoned, as fans started to spill out onto the pitch.
Duckenfield pleaded not guilty in the retrial, as he had previously, arguing that the disaster was caused by a number of factors including historic safety flaws of Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium itself, and failings by some of the other police officers on duty on the day.
The jury took 13 hours and 43 minutes to return the verdict.
About 45 family members watched the verdict in Liverpool where the trial was screened and there were shouts in the room as the verdict was announced.
At the courthouse in Preston a number of family members were in attendance. They expressed their dissatisfaction with today's verdict and they have said they will 'continue to fight for justice.'
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