Man arrested for manslaughter in on-ice death of former NHL player Adam Johns

[ozgod]

Does this open up a Pandora's box when it comes to contact sports and injuries/deaths? I'm not familiar with the law when it comes to injuries/deaths in the sports arena.

A man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of former NHL player Adam Johnson, the South Yorkshire (England) Police announced Tuesday.

The arrest comes more than two weeks since police began investigating the incident that led to Johnson's death on Oct. 28. Johnson was playing for the Nottingham Panthers in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) when his throat was cut by a skate blade during a collision in a Champions Cup game in Sheffield, England, against the Sheffield Steelers. Johnson was 29.

South Yorkshire Police said in a statement that a postmortem examination confirmed Johnson died from a fatal neck injury. The man, whose identity was not released by the police, remains in custody.

"Our investigation launched immediately following this tragedy and we have been carrying out extensive enquiries ever since to piece together the events which led to the loss of Adam in these unprecedented circumstances," South Yorkshire Chief Superintendent Becs Horsfall said. "We have been speaking to highly specialised experts in their field to assist in our enquiries and continue to work closely with the health and safety department at Sheffield City Council, which is supporting our ongoing investigation."

The player whose skate blade cut Johnson's neck was Matt Petgrave, 31, who plays for Sheffield.

According to The Associated Press, video of the incident showed Johnson skating with the puck toward the Steelers' net. Petgrave skated toward Johnson and collided with another Panthers player, and Petgrave's left skate kicked up as he began to fall and the blade hit Johnson in the neck.

Both players landed on the ice, and Petgrave immediately got to his feet. Johnson rose more slowly and was helped off the ice, with his jersey covered in blood. He later died at a local hospital.

Johnson's death has since prompted a number of different leagues throughout the sport to examine their player safety measures when it comes to potentially using neck protection devices.

It started when the English Ice Hockey Association announced two days after Johnson's death that it would make neck guards mandatory starting in 2024 as part of a three-step plan.

NHL general managers convened in Toronto on Tuesday and cut-resistant equipment -- along with overall protection -- was a hot topic of discussion.

While any mandates at the NHL level would need to be agreed upon by the NHL Players' Association, there have been NHL players who started wearing neck guards at practices and in games.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/38896995/man-arrested-suspicion-manslaughter-adam-johnson-death

[green_bballers13]

Sad story. I've known a couple of people that have been cut by a skate playing hockey, but never anything fatal (or close to it).

A sharp ice skate is as dangerous as a baseball bat, so I would imagine intent would have to be established. It's probably hard to prove that Petgrave was trying to fatally wound Mr. Johnson after falling to the ice.

Taking off a skate and using it with one's hand as a weapon would probably be treated similarly to a batter running at a pitcher and swinging with intent to kill.

[Donoghus]

It's such a sad story.  The video is definitely tough to watch but it was pretty bang bang with just an awful, unfortunate event.

I remember years ago when Marty McSorley blatantly slashed Donald Brashear in the head.  Now that was definitely deliberate.  He was convicted of assault.

[ozgod]

Sad story. I've known a couple of people that have been cut by a skate playing hockey, but never anything fatal (or close to it).

A sharp ice skate is as dangerous as a baseball bat, so I would imagine intent would have to be established. It's probably hard to prove that Petgrave was trying to fatally wound Mr. Johnson after falling to the ice.

Taking off a skate and using it with one's hand as a weapon would probably be treated similarly to a batter running at a pitcher and swinging with intent to kill.

Not sure if Canada has the same definition of manslaughter as us, but I don't believe you need intent to be convicted of manslaughter, which is the killing of a human being in the course of committing an unlawful act. I think the question would be less about intent and more on whether Petgrave was committing an unlawful act. If he collided with another player and in the act of falling his skate kicked up and severed an artery in Johnson's neck I'm not sure if that could be called unlawful, that would just be an accident, no? Now if he deliberately kicked at Johnson and cut his throat I think that could be manslaughter.

Tough case though and a tough outcome for sure 

[Roy H.]

Has it been established that the arrested party is the player?  The article doesn't say so.

If not, it could be manslaughter for not properly addressing the injury, etc.

I don't see how you prove manslaughter against the player.  There's not really any malfeasance on his part, is there?  It seems like prosecutorial overreach if it's the player.

[ozgod]

Has it been established that the arrested party is the player?  The article doesn't say so.

If not, it could be manslaughter for not properly addressing the injury, etc.

I don't see how you prove manslaughter against the player.  There's not really any malfeasance on his part, is there?  It seems like prosecutorial overreach if it's the player.

No I just assumed it was, I didn't know who else it could have been, though that's a good point - maybe because he wasn't attended to quickly enough and that caused his death?

[tazzmaniac]

Sad story. I've known a couple of people that have been cut by a skate playing hockey, but never anything fatal (or close to it).

A sharp ice skate is as dangerous as a baseball bat, so I would imagine intent would have to be established. It's probably hard to prove that Petgrave was trying to fatally wound Mr. Johnson after falling to the ice.

Taking off a skate and using it with one's hand as a weapon would probably be treated similarly to a batter running at a pitcher and swinging with intent to kill.

Not sure if Canada has the same definition of manslaughter as us, but I don't believe you need intent to be convicted of manslaughter, which is the killing of a human being in the course of committing an unlawful act. I think the question would be less about intent and more on whether Petgrave was committing an unlawful act. If he collided with another player and in the act of falling his skate kicked up and severed an artery in Johnson's neck I'm not sure if that could be called unlawful, that would just be an accident, no? Now if he deliberately kicked at Johnson and cut his throat I think that could be manslaughter.

Tough case though and a tough outcome for sure 

The incident occurred in England not Canada. 

[SparzWizard]

It was intentional. He literally skating up to him and knocked him down. There's no need for that in a sport game.

[ozgod]

Sad story. I've known a couple of people that have been cut by a skate playing hockey, but never anything fatal (or close to it).

A sharp ice skate is as dangerous as a baseball bat, so I would imagine intent would have to be established. It's probably hard to prove that Petgrave was trying to fatally wound Mr. Johnson after falling to the ice.

Taking off a skate and using it with one's hand as a weapon would probably be treated similarly to a batter running at a pitcher and swinging with intent to kill.

Not sure if Canada has the same definition of manslaughter as us, but I don't believe you need intent to be convicted of manslaughter, which is the killing of a human being in the course of committing an unlawful act. I think the question would be less about intent and more on whether Petgrave was committing an unlawful act. If he collided with another player and in the act of falling his skate kicked up and severed an artery in Johnson's neck I'm not sure if that could be called unlawful, that would just be an accident, no? Now if he deliberately kicked at Johnson and cut his throat I think that could be manslaughter.

Tough case though and a tough outcome for sure 

The incident occurred in England not Canada.

I clearly made a couple of incorrect assumptions in my post - yes it took place in England, and no it hasn't been established that the person arrested was the player in question (Petgrave).Presumably the South Yorkshire Police will confirm the identity of the person arrested shortly (or maybe they won't, not sure what the requirement there is).