One year since hockey player Adam Johnson's tragic death: Investigation ongoing

It has been one year since the tragic death of American hockey player Adam Johnson, who was fatally injured when an opponent's skate struck his neck during a game in Sheffield, England.

A man remains under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

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.

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.

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.

News.Az