None of the former officers accused by the IOPC will face disciplinary proceedings because they have all retired
Twelve police officers would have faced disciplinary cases of gross misconduct for a catalogue of professional failings relating to the Hillsborough disaster if they were still serving, the police watchdog has said.
However, no former officer named by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will face disciplinary proceedings because they have all retired. Some, including Peter Wright, the chief constable of South Yorkshire police at the time of the 1989 disaster, have died.
Ten of the men who would have faced gross misconduct cases were in the South Yorkshire force, including senior officers responsible for safety at Hillsborough. The IOPC listed six gross misconduct allegations against Wright , including for seeking to minimise the force’s responsibility and deflect blame on to the victims, Liverpool football club supporters.
Two other men were senior officers in West Midlands police, which was appointed to investigate the South Yorkshire force after the disaster. Mervyn Jones and Michael Foster would have faced allegations that they “failed to investigate effectively” and were “biased against supporters in favour of South Yorkshire police”.
