Hillsborough document release

[Daven]

I get the feeling that there is more of a witch hun out for the police now. What certain officers have done by covering things up is scandalous. They were also negligent and woefully inadequate in crowd control techniques. People forget at the time the reason why fencing was up was becayse of the general problem of football hooliganism that had made it neccessary.

 

I do think the level of blame will swing too far one way and other people who played a part in being difficult to handle will escape any criticism whatsoever. There were many officers and Sheffielders who helped as best they could on the day.

 

I will be glad when the Inquest and prosecutions are over, so everyone can move on (although I expect if you lossed a loved one that day you never really get over it).

 

Some are in danger of losing sight of this.

There is clearly blame on all sides - this includes some of the Liverpool fans who behaved in a disgusting and violent way on the day but I believe this will be conveniently overlooked. They know who they are and they will have to live with the knowledge that they contributed to the disaster.

 

---------- Post added 01-04-2014 at 17:42 ----------

 

Whose job was it to police the behaviour of the fans? Wouldn't this be a sign that the police never had control?

 

Who has the authority to tell licenscees that they must close their pubs? Who had the powers to prevent anyone who might be so intoxicated that they might pose a health and safety risk to themselves and others from getting in or near the stadium?

 

When you are paying for a ticket, you expect that your contract with the hosts is to ensure that reasonable measures have been taken to ensure your safety.

 

Mr Bloom - the police are not ENTIRELY to blame for the tragedy.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Daven

[999tigger]

However because of the cover up and entrenching of positions then sympathy and self righteousness of some will knee jerk the other way. Many Liverpool fans will never accept anyone was drinking or that they were difficult to control. The police who covered up the situation have really lost the right to have sympathy though.

[Mr Bloom]

 

Mr Bloom - the police are not ENTIRELY to blame for the tragedy.

 

It would perhaps be more helpful if you took the time to read my posts on the subject before you finger point. You don't have to go back too far to see I agreed that some of the police performed admirably on the day of the tragedy, just one page to be exact.

 

Some members of the emergency services were nothing less than heroes. Take, Anthony Edwards, for example. As someone with an interest in health care, locally, how do you feel about the victims being denied or delayed life-saving intervention? Have you seen Anthony Edwards' story, what do you make of it?

 

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/346308/Paramedic-I-was-silenced-over-what-I-witnessed-that-day-at-Hillsborough

[Gazza58]

Years of hooliganism contributed to this tragic event,the cages [even typing that makes me cringe] that the fans were herded into like animals,the attitude of the police towards fans,ten foot steel fences we had to stand behind.Lessons have been learnt and many improvements have been made,but sadly it took this tragedy for that to happen,and if hillsborough hadnt happened it would certainly have occured somewhere else.

[Daven]

However because of the cover up and entrenching of positions then sympathy and self righteousness of some will knee jerk the other way. Many Liverpool fans will never accept anyone was drinking or that they were difficult to control. The police who covered up the situation have really lost the right to have sympathy though.

I agree.

I do feel much sympathy for the families of the dead - especially those who have dedicated their lives since 1989 to 'getting justice'. Once the enquiry is complete they will finally be forced to 'move on' and this is going to be difficult if not impossible.

[Mr Bloom]

However because of the cover up and entrenching of positions then sympathy and self righteousness of some will knee jerk the other way. Many Liverpool fans will never accept anyone was drinking or that they were difficult to control. The police who covered up the situation have really lost the right to have sympathy though.

 

I don't think Liverpool fans have said that no one was drinking.

Edited April 29, 2015 by Mr Bloom

[999tigger]

I don't think Liverpool fans have said that no one was drinking. That would be outrageously stupid as anyone who has ever been to a match can testify.

 

The point is that it's not an acceptable 'excuse' for the policing of the day. I was a teenager at the time, and even I could have told the police to expect an element of fans who had been drinking heavily, and double it on a sunny day. It's not as if the police of groundstaff didn't know what to expect, they'd had the very same fans for the very same game to all intent and purposes the year before.

 

Think you will find that there are many who will never accept the behaviour of other liverpool fans had anything to do with the tragedy. I have just been on a Liverppol fan site and there are plenty of posters there who blame the people in charge of Heysel stadium for the disaster and minimalise the part Liverpool fans played. As you said outrageously stupid,but that is what they are saying.

 

The Police by their behaviour lost any moral authority to be heard although I hope the coroner and the jury can see through enough things to be fair and open minded.

[Mr Bloom]

Think you will find that there are many who will never accept the behaviour of other liverpool fans had anything to do with the tragedy. I have just been on a Liverppol fan site and there are plenty of posters there who blame the people in charge of Heysel stadium for the disaster and minimalise the part Liverpool fans played. As you said outrageously stupid,but that is what they are saying.

 

The Police by their behaviour lost any moral authority to be heard although I hope the coroner and the jury can see through enough things to be fair and open minded.

 

If you want a decent summary of the events at Heysel....

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heysel_Stadium_disaster

Edited April 29, 2015 by Mr Bloom

[999tigger]

I am saying its not hard to find Liverpool fans who will say so.

 

I remember on the night following the disaster the polce had been overhwelmed on Leppings lane and it showed fans without tickets scaling the walls adding to the chaos.

 

Glad the inquest has to assess the evidence. Doubt I'll be tuning in on a daily basis.

[Bypassblade]

There are many rights and wrongs in this case, and the police being one of the wrongs (not all I add), I see this as an exercise to try to exonerate Liverpool fans of all blame. It is a tragedy that 96 died, nobody should go to a game and die, but the fans arriving late at 10 to 3 up to 3pm contributed massively to the eventual crush as police panicked and just let them in.

 

It is wrong to say they didn't contribute they did, also with Heysel they caused that by attacking the Juventus fans but as per usual they will be seen as lilly white, no matter what this inquest brings it will never bring it to a close.

 

The people of Liverpool will make sure that it rumbles on, and on and on, we get this furore every year but no sod seems to remember the poor buggers that burned to death at Valley Parade 29 years ago on 11th May 1985, now that pees me off.