Sheku Bayoh inquiry begins in Edinburgh

A public inquiry into the death of Fife man Sheku Bayoh is to get underway in Edinburgh this morning.

Bayoh died whilst in Police custody in 2015 in Kirkcaldy.

Earlier in the day of May 3rd 2015 Bayoh had been seen acting erratically in the street with a knife, prompting Police to be called.

Officer restrained Bayoh, who was proven to be unarmed by this point, with the 31-year-old losing consciousness, and later being pronounced dead at hospital.

His family and their solicitor, as well as campaigners, have since called for more information on the circumstances surrounding his death, and investigations and reviews conducted into the matter afterwards.

Some have referred to Bayoh as "Scotland's George Floyd" as they make the case that the force used by Police was excessive - although subsequent investigations have since rejected this was the case.

The scope of this public inquiry has been outlined as including 'establishing the circumstances of Bayoh's death; recommendations that might prevent similar deaths in the future; examination of investigation procedures excluding the Lord Advocate's investigation; whether events surrounding Bayoh's death and actions of the police were influenced by his 'actual or perceived race.'

Aamer Anwar, the solicitor for Bayoh's family told us:

"The family see it as a sort of almost like a case of David versus Goliath.

"The family hopes it will hold to account, not just those individual officers, but also everything that happened afterwards.

"And that means for the very first time in the history of this country it will not just be about the police. But actually it will be about the role of the PIRC and the role of the crown office and the previous two lord advocates

"Asking the question of simply what happened. You know, the family want the truth because , without the truth, they won't get justice."

On the comparison to George Floyd, Anwar claims that Bayoh's family will need what they consider to be justice in order for that to happen.

He says they want to help Bayoh leave a legacy:

"This case has been called Scotland's George Floyd. Sheku's sister Kadi said that Sheku is Scotland's George Floyd.

"But the difference is this that in George Floyd's case, the family have seen justice ,as far as Sheku's family are concerned there has been no justice."

All of the relevant bodies, such as Police Scotland and the reviews commission have been contacted for comment, but are not willing to provide a statement in advance of the inquriy.

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