LONDON — It’s been one year since the death of American hockey player Adam Johnson, whose neck was fatally cut by an opponent’s skate during a game in Sheffield, England.
A man remains under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Thousands of fans witnessed the grisly collision last Oct. 28 and there’s video of it but authorities have not announced a decision about whether they will bring charges.
There could be a variety of explanations, from delays in digital forensic analyses to weighing the potential difficulty in proving criminality for “on-the-ball” incidents like this one.
What happened?
Johnson and the Nottingham Panthers were playing the Sheffield Steelers in the Elite Ice Hockey League’s cup competition. The Steelers were leading 2-1 in the second period. Johnson, a forward who briefly played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, skated with the puck into Sheffield’s defensive zone. As he pivoted to move inside, Steelers defenseman Matt Petgrave was skating toward him. Petgrave had another Panthers player in front of him and appears to have made contact. Then, Petgrave’s left skate elevates as the defenseman begins to fall and the blade hits Johnson in the neck.
Johnson, a Minnesota native who was 29, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The Panthers had described it as a “ freak accident.” On Nov. 14, South Yorkshire Police arrested a man but have not released his name or age. The man was released on bail the next day and has been “ re-bailed ” several times — a formality while the investigation continues. In the British system, an arrest signals the start of an investigation — a decision on charges would come afterward.
Long investigation?
Police try to determine the “state of mind” of defendants. Besides conducting interviews, that likely means examining phones or computers — and that’s time consuming, even when defendants give passwords, which they’re not obligated to do.
“There are massive delays in the British criminal justice system. Cases are taking a long time to be brought to charge,” criminal defense lawyer Quentin Hunt told The Associated Press.
A report published less than two years ago said there was a backlog of 25,000 devices waiting to be examined.
“My cases are regularly being delayed by up to a year because of delays in getting back digital analyses of devices,” Hunt said. “It is notorious within the British justice system, why cases are taking longer to be brought to a charging decision.”
Difficult decisions
Lawyers point to a 2004 court ruling that overturned the “grievous bodily harm” conviction of an amateur soccer player who seriously injured an opponent with an on-the-ball tackle. It said criminal prosecution should be reserved for conduct that is “sufficiently grave.”
In deciding if conduct reaches the criminal threshold “it has to be borne in mind that, in highly competitive sports, conduct outside the rules can be expected to occur in the heat of the moment,” the ruling added. “The type of sport, the level at which it is played, the nature of the act, the degree of force used, the extent of the risk of injury, the state of mind of the defendant are all likely to be relevant in determining whether the defendant’s actions go beyond the threshold.”
Prosecutions have been more common in “off-the-ball” scenarios such us punching, biting or head-butting.
An “on-the-ball” case that involved a rugby player being left partially paralyzed was handled in civil court. Natasha King wasn’t criminally charged despite dropping her body weight onto Dani Czernuszka-Watts, who was in a vulnerable position as she was about to pick up the ball in a 2017 match.
Czernuszka-Watts won her civil suit in which a former referee testified after watching video of the game that in his 60 years in rugby he had “never witnessed such a reckless incident.” The civil court judge had found that King had acted out of revenge built up from earlier in the match.
“Against those hallmarks, the fact that the incident would likely be considered ‘on the ball’ may have saved the injuring player from concurrent criminal prosecution,” attorney Henry Goldschmidt wrote in his analysis of criminal liability in sports.
Petgrave’s collision with Johnson was clearly “on the ball” because Johnson had the puck on his stick.
An incident in a hockey game in December 1995 led to a grievous bodily harm charge against Nicky Chinn, who played for the Steelers and was accused of purposely using his stick to injure an opponent’s eye. A jury found him not guilty.
Potential charge
The case is likely an involuntary manslaughter investigation in which “there has to be an unlawful act or negligence,” Hunt said, but prosecutors wouldn’t need to prove the intent to kill or cause serious bodily harm.
Gross negligence manslaughter is still involuntary but more complicated: “You owe a duty of care to someone else, and you are negligent in conduct and that gives rise to death due to your negligence,” Hunt added.
Voluntary manslaughter is more akin to a murder charge with clear intent to kill. The fact that Johnson wasn’t wearing a neck guard could prove legally significant.
Death of professional hockey player sparks renewed interest in neck guard mandates for youth players
“Given that it’s not up to him (the man under arrest) as to whether the other player wore a neck guard or not, then it will be, I imagine, quite difficult for the prosecution to prove to the requisite standard that he should be held criminally accountable,” Hunt said.
A week before an arrest was made, South Yorkshire coroner Tanyka Rawden issued a “ Prevention of Future Deaths ” report urging that neck guards be mandatory for all hockey players.
“In due course the inquest will consider whether the use of a neck guard or protector could have prevented Mr Johnson’s death. At this stage in my investigation however, I am sufficiently concerned that deaths may occur in the future if neck guards or protectors are not worn,” Rawden wrote.
The coroner’s inquest was suspended in January, a procedural move because the police investigation was ongoing.
There has been debate about player protections. Britain’s top league made neck guards mandatory last Jan. 1, two months after Johnson’s death.
Now what?
The next key date is Nov. 11, when the man who was arrested would need to be re-bailed again. Petgrave, a 32-year-old Canadian, has not made any public statements and his agent declined to comment. Police have also declined to comment.
Teams around the league began recognizing the one-year mark by holding 47 seconds of applause before games this weekend.
The Panthers plan to hold a jersey retirement ceremony for Johnson’s No. 47 on Dec. 14.
