LONDON, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cops from two of Britain's major police forces, including a chief constable and senior officers, would have faced misconduct cases for their parts in the country's worst-ever football tragedy, an official report released Tuesday has found.
In April 1989, more than 90 people were killed and hundreds were injured in a crowd crush at a FA Cup Semi-Final football match in the Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield.
The incident triggered a years-long campaign for justice by the families of the victims. For years, they faced a public perception that fans were to blame for the tragedy.
The report, released as the result of investigations by The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the country's official police watchdog, and an associated investigation, said no evidence was found to support previous police accounts that the behavior of supporters caused or contributed to the disaster.
The investigation concluded that the 97 people had been unlawfully killed, officially clearing them of any blame.
It also found that South Yorkshire Police (SYP) fundamentally failed in its planning for the match and in its response as the disaster unfolded, and in how it dealt with traumatized supporters and families.
There is "considerable evidence" of the "defensive approach" adopted by SYP to the investigations and inquiries that followed as it attempted to deflect the blame, the report said. It also found "deficiencies and potential evidence of bias" in the work of the West Midlands Police (WMP), who had been tasked with investigating the disaster.
The report said the chief constable of the South Yorkshire force at the time and a host of other police officers from SYP and WMP would have had cases to answer, had they still been serving.
All but one of the cops investigated had retired by the time the investigations began.
"The 97 people who were unlawfully killed, their families, survivors of the disaster and all those so deeply affected, have been repeatedly let down -- before, during and after the horrific events of that day," said Kathie Cashell, deputy director general of the IOPC.
"I hope this report serves as a timely reminder of what happens when organizations focus on protecting their reputation rather than admitting their mistakes and acting to put things right," she added.
