London — It’s been a year since American hockey player Adam Johnson died after being hit by an opponent’s skate and severely decapitating his neck during a game in Sheffield, England.
A man remains under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of murder. Thousands of fans witnessed the horrific crash on October 28 and there is footage of it, but authorities have not announced a decision on whether to lay charges.
There may be a variety of explanations, from delays in digital forensic analysis to assessing the potential difficulty in proving criminality for “on-the-ball” incidents such as these.
Johnson and the Nottingham Panthers were playing the Sheffield Steelers in the Elite Ice Hockey League’s cup competition. The Steelers led 2-1 in the second period. Johnson, a forward who briefly played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, picked up the puck and skated into Sheffield’s defensive zone. As he turned to move inside, Steelers defenseman Matt Petgrave was skating toward him. There was another Panthers player in front of Petgrave and appears to have made contact. The defender then begins to fall and Petgrave’s left skate goes up as the blade hits Johnson’s neck.
Johnson, 29, of Minnesota, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The Panthers described it as a “freak accident.” On November 14, South Yorkshire Police arrested a man but did not release his name or age. The man was released on bail the following day and was “rebailed” several times as a formality while the investigation continued. In the British system, an arrest signals the start of an investigation, and a decision on charges follows.
Police try to determine the “mental state” of the defendant. In addition to conducting interviews, this will likely mean searching phones or computers, which can be time-consuming even if the defendant is not required to provide passwords.
“There are huge delays in the UK’s criminal justice system. Criminal defense attorney Quentin Hunt told The Associated Press that it is taking a long time to prosecute the case.
A report published less than two years ago found that 25,000 devices were awaiting testing.
“My cases are regularly delayed by up to a year due to delays in digital analysis of the devices,” Hunt said. “It is notorious for cases within the UK judicial system to take longer to reach a charging decision. ”
Lawyers point to a 2004 court ruling that overturned the “serious bodily harm” conviction of an amateur soccer player who seriously injured an opposing player through an on-the-ball tackle. He said criminal prosecution should be reserved for “sufficiently serious” conduct.
In determining whether conduct rises to the threshold of a crime, “it must be borne in mind that in competitive sports, conduct outside the rules can occur at a moment’s notice,” the ruling added. “The type of sport, the level at which it is played, the nature of the conduct, the degree of force used, the degree of risk of injury, and the defendant’s mental state are all likely to be relevant in determining whether the defendant’s conduct exceeded the level of regulation. . maximum.”
Prosecutions have become more common in “unusual” situations such as punching, biting and headbutting.
An ‘on-the-ball’ incident in which a rugby player was left partially paralyzed has been dealt with in a civil court. Natasha King was not criminally charged despite dropping her weight on Dani Chernuzka-Wats in a vulnerable position trying to catch the ball during a 2017 game.
Czernuszka-Watts won the civil suit, and the former referee testified after viewing footage of the game that in 60 years of rugby he had “never witnessed such a reckless incident.” A civil court judge ruled that King had acted out of a desire for revenge that had been building up since the beginning of the fight.
“Apart from these characteristics, the fact that the incident was likely to be considered ‘on the ball’ may have saved the injured player from concurrent criminal prosecution,” attorney Henry Goldschmidt wrote in an analysis of criminal liability in sports.
The collision between Petgrave and Johnson was clearly “on the ball” as Johnson had the puck on his stick.
An incident at a hockey game in December 1995 resulted in former Steelers player Nicky Chinn being charged with intentionally using his stick to injure an opponent’s eye. The jury found him not guilty.
Hunt said the case is likely an involuntary manslaughter investigation, which requires “a tortious act or negligence,” but prosecutors do not have to prove intent to kill or cause great bodily harm.
Gross negligence manslaughter is still involuntary but is more complicated. Mr Hunt added: “You have a duty of care to another person and you were negligent in your actions and this caused death as a result of your negligence.”
Voluntary manslaughter is closer to a charge of murder with clear intent to kill. The fact that Johnson was not wearing a neck brace could prove legally significant.
“Considering that it is not up to him (the arrested man) whether the opposing player wears a neck guard or not, I think it will be quite difficult for the prosecution to prove whether a neck guard was worn to the required standard. He should be held criminally responsible,” Hunt said.
A week before the arrests, South Yorkshire coroner Tanyka Rawden published a “Preventing Future Deaths” report calling for all hockey players to be required to wear neck braces.
“A proper investigation will consider whether Mr Johnson’s death could have been prevented if a neck restraint or restraint had been used. However, at this stage of the investigation there is sufficient concern that failure to wear a neck restraint or brace could result in future death,” Rawden wrote.
The coroner’s inquest was closed in January for procedural reasons as the police investigation was ongoing.
There was discussion about player protection. England’s top league made neck braces mandatory from January 1, two months after Johnson’s death.
The next key date is November 11 when the arrested man is due to post bail again. Petgrave, a 32-year-old Canadian, has made no public statement and his representative declined to comment. Police also declined to comment.
Teams around the league began celebrating the one-year anniversary by clapping for 47 seconds before each game this weekend.
The Panthers plan to hold a retirement ceremony for Johnson’s No. 47 uniform on December 14th.
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AP Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/hockey
