A number of family members have raised concerns about how police officers treated them at the gymnasium, commenting that as they went there to look for their loved ones, some police officers prevented them from entering and did not provide them with any information.
Kevin Thompson went to the game with his brothers Patrick, who was killed in the crush, and Joseph. He said that after police officers had carried Patrick to the gymnasium, “They put him on the floor and left me with him. I was screaming and shouting.” He added, “I just wanted to hold on to Pat because there was nothing I could do. The police made me leave and we were taken to the police station and then sent home.”
Stephen Jones’s wife Christine was also killed in the disaster. He had been separated from her in the crush and eventually made his way onto the pitch, where he found her lying on the touchline and instantly knew she had died. With assistance from Police Sergeant Julian Roper (PS Roper) and other officers, Mr Jones carried his wife to the gymnasium, where he sat with her and held her.
In a statement to the IOPC in 2015, he described a series of rude and inappropriate interruptions and interventions from police officers, after the third of which he became so frustrated at the way he was being treated, he kicked out at a chair. Two police officers took hold of him and told him to calm down. He commented that other than PS Roper, nobody had shown him any compassion, nor seemed to care or understand.
Barry Devonside’s son Christopher was killed in the disaster. They had gone to the match together. Mr Devonside was seated in the North Stand, while Christopher went to the West Terrace.
In a statement to solicitors dated 1 August 2014, Mr Devonside said that he left the ground at 3.45pm following an announcement that the match had been cancelled and returned to the group’s prearranged meeting place. When he got there, one of his son’s friends told him that Christopher had died and was in the gymnasium. Mr Devonside said that he got directions to the gymnasium and arrived there between 4pm and 4.15pm.
He knocked on the gymnasium door and waited for a long time for it to be answered, only for a police officer to ask him without any empathy, “What do you want?” Mr Devonside explained what he had been told and the officer asked for his son's name. Mr Devonside recalled, to try and help identify Christopher, that he also told the officer that his son was wearing a Welsh international rugby shirt.
The officer told him to stay outside, then closed and locked the door, returning 10–12 minutes later with the news that his son was not there. Mr Devonside said that he told the officer his son had to be in the gymnasium, as his friend had carried him there and had given his full name and address to the police. However, the officer said, “I have just told you he's not here”.
In 2014, he made a complaint about the manner of the police officer concerned. Operation Resolve investigated this complaint. Though it was not possible to confirm the identity of the officer involved, the IOPC upheld the complaint, on the basis that because the officer “spoke to Mr Devonside in an abrupt, unsympathetic and unprofessional manner”, Mr Devonside did not receive the level of service a member of the public might reasonably expect.
