The four and half years it has taken to reach a decision over whether any police officers should be charged over Sheku Bayoh’s death are down to the complexity of the case, according to the Lord Advocate.
But at heart, the sister of Sheku Bayoh says the issues are simple. “Before my brother met the first two police officers he had no injuries”, says Kadijatu Johnson. “Soon after the first police officers reached him he was covered head to toe in injuries and he later died.”
She said the family accepted her brother was acting out of character and had committed a crime when he encountered police. But had he died after being held down by members of the public, those involved would automatically have been suspects, and probably have faced charges, she said.
Instead the police officers involved were treated as witnesses and were able to refuse to give statements for 32 days, Ms Johnson said. “The police have been protected yet again. Why should police officers be above the law?”
Sheku Bayoh died aged 31 on May 3, 2015, in Kirkcaldy, after police responded to claims that a man was behaving erratically and wielding a knife. Toxicology tests later established that Mr Bayoh had taken ecstasy and a drug known as Flakka. However the family claim he had no weapon of any kind when he was restrained and police did not attempt to de-escalate the situation.
They also allege police embarked on a deliberate campaign of deflection in the aftermath of the incident, in an attempt to distract from the actions of officers.
Aamer Anwar, the solicitor who is acting for the Bayoh family, said: “Within minutes of his death the misinformation started. The police painted an image of a large black man with stereotypical characteristics of extraordinary strength and dangerousness, wielding a machete in an attempt to blame Sheku for his own death.” But this was highly misleading, Mr Anwar suggests. Sheku was not six foot plus, as suggested, he was only five feet ten, and weighed less than half as much as just one of the two officers who pinned him to the ground.
He did not brandish a knife, and did not have one – although police say one was later discovered nearby. The family claim CCTV evidence refutes suggestions he stamped on a female officer twice before being subdued.
“Police officers have a right to defend themselves but any use of force must at all times be lawful, necessary and proportionate in the circumstances,” Mr Anwar said. “Sheku was brought to the ground within 42 seconds of the first police contact, never to get up again.”
A woman police officer was taken to hospital after the incident. PC Nicole Short, 32, who is set to retire on medical grounds, is said to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and to be “permanently disabled from undertaking the ordinary duties of a police officer”.
However Mr Anwar said: “It was PIRC (the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner) who declared publicly that she was discharged shortly after her attendance at hospital while Sheku Bayoh, who suffered multiple injuries, was pronounced dead in that hospital.”
Mr Anwar said officers had breached numerous rules, including ignoring an instruction from their supervising officer not to engage Mr Bayoh but to make an initial assessment and report back, failing to follow containment procedures, using Pava spray (a form of pepper spray) and CS spray in a way inconsistent with regulations and failing to submit forms which are mandatory after any use of force. At the time of his death Mr Bayoh had injuries including a fractured rib and ruptured blood vessels in his eyes, both of which are signs of asphyxia, Mr Anwar said.
“The family maintain that Sheku was the victim of an unlawful use of force by the police; the force used by police was not reasonable and necessary and the police officers were not proportionate to the perceived threat.”
All of these claims were part of a dossier submitted to and rejected by the Lord Advocate yesterday. During yesterday’s two hour meeting with the family, James Wolffe QC explained the Crown continues to take the view that there is not enough evidence to bring any charges, although a spokesman said prosecution remains an option should fresh evidence become available.
Police sources have always rejected claims the officers behaved inappropriately and suggest that the family has been manipulated for political ends. Calum Steele, of the Scottish Police Federation, welcomed the Lord Advocate’s decision, tweeting: “Today’s announcement that there is no basis to support the bringing of any criminal charge against any police officer following the death of Sheku Bayoh is completely unsurprising & shows that no amount of innuendo will ever be a match for evidence.”
Four and half years on there are still no answers and it is inevitable that there will now be a fatal accident inquiry – or a public inquiry, should ministers heed the family’s calls for one.
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