A Scottish Police Federation representative has told the Sheku Bayoh inquiry that she saw a mark on a Pc’s vest which appeared as if it was “roughly the shape of a shoe”.
The inquiry, which is investigating the death of the 31-year-old after he was restrained by nine police officers in Kirkcaldy on May 3 2015, heard from PC Amanda Givan on Tuesday.
Previously, the court had been told that Mr Bayoh had punched and stamped on PC Nicole Short during the incident.
PC Givan, as member of the Scottish Police Federation, attended Kirkcaldy Police Station after the officers were sent back and Mr Bayoh had been taken to hospital as paramedics fought to save his life.
The PC told inquiry counsel Angela Grahame QC that officers were “all really anxious” and “worried” when they were sat in the canteen waiting for more information.
The inquiry has previously heard from PCs Ashley Tomlinson and Craig Walker that after Mr Bayoh stamped on their colleague PC Short after he had punched her.
PC Short was taken to hospital, but later returned to the station where PC Givan said in her inquiry statement she saw what “looked like a dirty mark” on her vest.
“If I’m being asked to speculate, it looked like it was roughly the shape of a shoe mark,” the statement said.
“Albeit you couldn’t see specific tread detail, but it looked to be roughly the size and shape. It was a kind of long, thin mark, roughly the shape of a shoe.”
She added: “I made the presumption that perhaps it had been caused when she was injured, and that she had perhaps been kicked or stood on.”
READ MORE FROM THE SHEKU BAYOH INQUIRY
- Officer felt ‘horrific’ after Bayoh was unconscious
- Ex-officer says she ran after being ‘overwhelmed by terror’
- Officer 'found knife in grass' near where Sheku Bayoh was restrained
In her statement, Pc Givan said the only conversation she had with Pc Short about it was “to make sure she identified the mark to them”, and told the inquiry she did not remember how or when it was noticed on her vest.
Mr Bayoh’s family have said they believe his race played a part in his treatment, but officers involved in his arrest in Kirkcaldy’s Hayfield Road have denied this.
PC Givan told Ms Grahame that PC Short had been suffering from “discomfort” after the incident.
The witness added that PC Short appeared to be avoiding moving her neck.
“When Nicole arrived back, my recollection is that if she was going to speak to someone she entirely moved her body from her waist. She didn’t turn her head, she turned her entire body,” PC Givan said.
“She appeared to have discomfort in her upper body which is why she was moving the way I thought she was moving.”
PC Givan said when she arrived at the police station it appeared that nobody was in charge of the situation, and that people were coming in and out of the canteen where the officers sat, with no control in place.
The inquiry, chaired by Lord Bracadale, heard she had advised them not to speak about the case to each other, but their formal warning did not take place until mid-morning. She said she did not believe it had been given before she arrived.
PC Givan, who has been an officer for almost 30 years and will retire from Police Scotland on Friday, said she advised police officers at the point they were asked to give statements to establish whether they were a witness or a suspect and, if the information had not been given, to not give statements.
The inquiry continues.
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