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Police among 6 charged over 1989 Hillsborough disaster

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Warrington: Four former senior policemen were among six people charged on Wednesday over the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster in England that killed 96 Liverpool football supporters.


Prosecutors said there was “sufficient evidence to charge six individuals with criminal offences” including manslaughter by negligence, perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office.


Barry Devonside, whose 18-year-old son Christopher died in the tragedy, was with other relatives when the charges were announced.


“Everybody applauded when it was announced that the most senior police officer on that particular day will have charges presented to him,” he said.


Former South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officer David Duckenfield, who was the match commander on the day of the crush, was charged with “manslaughter by gross negligence.”


“We will allege that David Duckenfield’s failures to discharge his personal responsibility were extraordinarily bad and contributed substantially to the deaths of each of those 96 people who so tragically and unnecessarily lost their lives,” said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).


It said he could not be charged with the manslaughter of Tony Bland — the 96th casualty — as he died almost four years later.


Former officer Norman Bettison was charged with four offences of misconduct in public office relating to “telling alleged lies about his involvement in the aftermath of Hillsborough and the culpability of fans.”


Other officers Donald Denton and Alan Foster, along with SYP solicitor Peter Metcalf, were charged with intending “to pervert the course of public justice” by allegedly attempting to cover-up the police’s culpability in the crush at the FA Cup semifinal.


— AFP


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