The South Yorkshire police officer in command of the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough, at which 96 people were killed in a crush, was “basically a spectator” because he was so reliant on other officers, his trial for manslaughter has been told.
David Duckenfield, who at the time was the newly promoted chief superintendent in charge of the match at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, had “an impossible learning curve,” a former sergeant, who was in the police control box, told the court.
Michael Goddard, questioned by Duckenfield’s barrister, Ben Myers QC, agreed that although Duckenfield was the match commander in overall control, a superintendent, Bernard Murray, was the more experienced ground commander who was really “doing the running of the whole operation”.
Asked who was in control, in reality, Goddard replied: “It couldn’t be the match commander, because he was so new.”
Goddard said Murray was in command at Sheffield Wednesday league matches, and the previous chief superintendent, Brian Mole, did not come into the control box at those matches. That was different for semi-finals, which had been held at Hillsborough in 1981, 1987 and 1988, at which capacity crowds of 54,000 attended. However, even then Murray took the majority of decisions and he was “running the match”, Goddard said.
“Mr Duckenfield was there as a matter of rank rather than experience?” Myers asked. “Absolutely, yes,” Goddard replied.
The former sergeant agreed that given Duckenfield’s inexperience – he was promoted, and took on the role of match commander, 19 days before the match on 15 April 1989, the jury has heard – he would have had to rely “very heavily” on Murray.
Although Duckenfield was the match commander, Goddard said, his role was similar to that of another officer, Ch Insp Robert McRobbie, who was there purely as an observer.
“A bit like Mr McRobbie,” Goddard said, “[Duckenfield] is basically a spectator, yes.”
Goddard agreed with Myers that no police officer had notified the control room after 2.30pm that there was a build-up outside the turnstiles of people with tickets to support Liverpool at the Leppings Lane end of the ground. At 2.48pm a superintendent, Roger Marshall, called on the radio for large exit gates to be opened to alleviate the crush outside.
Goddard also agreed that neither he, Murray, nor any other officer observing the central pens, three and four, of the Leppings Lane terrace, warned they were too crowded before the gate was opened.
The jury has already been told that Duckenfield gave the order to open the gates, and a large gate, C, was opened at 2.52pm, allowing in approximately 2,000 people. A tunnel facing them, which led to pens three and four, was not closed off, and the lethal crush happened in those pens.
Questioned by Myers, Goddard accepted he did not link the opening of gate C with the tunnel leading to the pens, and that “all minds” in the control box were on relieving the crush outside, not inside the ground.
“I as an individual, and I as part of a team, let Mr Duckenfield down,” he said. “We should have done better.”
Re-examined by Richard Matthews QC, for the prosecution, Goddard acknowledged that a chief superintendent, not a superintendent, was in overall command at Sheffield Wednesday league matches against bigger clubs including Liverpool and Manchester United, as well as for FA Cup semi-finals.
Matthews asked Goddard: “Did you have any experience or knowledge of exactly what was expected of a match commander in overall command?”
“I didn’t, no,” he replied.
He agreed that after Marshall’s first request for the gates to be opened, at 2.48pm, there was enough time for contingency plans to be put in place for the incoming people, and to communicate with officers inside the ground.
Duckenfield is charged with gross negligence manslaughter in relation to 95 of the people who died. Graham Mackrell, the former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary and safety officer, is on trial alongside him, charged with two criminal breaches of safety legislation. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial continues.
