Inside Justice
Hillsborough could have happened to any match commander, says Tom Wood
Following the long and weary course of Hillsborough inquiries and the increasing demonisation of the police match commander, I have been haunted by one thought – it could have been me.
I have never met ex-chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, but our police careers had much in common.
Like him, I spent much of my early service as a detective and, like him, I was transferred back to uniform duties as a senior officer to broaden my experience.
In 1989, a short time before the catastrophic football match, Duckenfield was pitched into the role of divisional commander of the area that happened to include Hillsborough football stadium.
About the same time, I was posted to a busy Edinburgh City Division that hosted numerous large events.
Thankfully that is where the careers of Mr Duckenfield and I diverged.
Back then, a senior police officer was simply expected to take command of events in his or her area, no specialist training existed and you were left to learn on the job, supported by more experienced juniors.
If you were smart you listened, learned and leaned on their wisdom until you found your feet.
I was lucky to have a hugely experienced boss and a great team to help me – Mr Duckenfield was not so fortunate.
He found himself, an experienced officer but a wholly inexperienced match commander, responsible for a highly-charged sell-out semifinal in a football stadium already identified as unfit for purpose.
If he took any comfort at all, it must have been that at least his deputy, the superintendent in charge outside the ground, was an experienced football commander.
The contingency planning was obviously hopelessly flawed but the fateful moment came a short time after kick-off when a large crowd gathered outside one of the gates trying to get into an already crowded ground.
Fearing life-threatening crushing, the superintendent urgently requested Duckenfield to open the gates to alleviate the pressure.
I have often wondered what I would have done in that situation. In the heat of that moment, would I have refused the request of an experienced colleague in an emergency? Would I have foreseen the consequences of opening the gates?
Thankfully I was never put to that test but without the wisdom of hindsight I cannot truthfully say what decision I would have made. And on that split-second decision rested the fate of of 96 innocent men, women and children.
The past, as the saying goes, is a foreign country – they do things differently there.
Things are very different now as a direct consequence of that awful day at Hillsborough. Lord Justice Taylor produced his seminal report which changed both the design of sports grounds and the way large events are managed.
Although it is of cold comfort to the bereaved of Hillsborough, some good did come from their catastrophe.
Still as I watch the desolate figure of former Chief Superintendent Duckenfield trudging to and from his various court appearances, I cannot help but think back to these far off days in the foreign country of the 1980s and think – that, but for fortune, it could have been me. Tom Wood is a writer and former deputy chief constable.