The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Bayoh in fight just hours before death
Sheku Bayoh and his close friend had a drug-fuelled fight just hours before he died, his statement to the public inquiry has revealed.
Zahid Saeed said the trainee gas engineer had “sucker punched” him from behind before chasing him with a wooden clothes pole.
Mr Saeed, the father of murdered Edinburgh toddler Mikaeel Kular, also said Mr Bayoh had accused him of being a police detective and believed he was having an adverse reaction to the drugs both of them had taken earlier that night.
The revelations are contained in an official statement Mr Saeed made to the public inquiry into Mr Bayoh’s death.
Mr Saeed attended the inquiry on Friday to answer questions about his statement, which was taken on March 22 this year, but appeared reluctant to answer questions posed by the inquiry’s lawyer, Angela Grahame QC.
But the statement document was later made public.
Mr Saeed stated Mr Bayoh was “acting out of character” when he went to check on him after he had unexpectedly left a friend’s house.
He said: “We were in the kitchen and he asked me if I was CID.
“I was surprised, very surprised – quite shocked, to be fair. But at this point I knew he wasn’t thinking straight.
“He was either hallucinating or his mind was playing tricks on him.”
He said there was some “back and forward” discussion between the pair, during which Mr Bayoh radiated a “negative energy”, before he decided to leave.
He said: “I didn’t feel safe and my gut was telling me to leave.
“The minute I turned my back to walk out the kitchen door, that’s when Sheku sucker punched me from behind. He punched me on the head.
“I was half in and half out the door. I stumbled after being punched. I was quite shocked, very surprised when it happened. I was just thinking, ‘Did he really just hit me?’
“But at that time I just seen him charging towards me. I knew it wasn’t him. I knew he wasn’t himself at that point.”
He added: “I started running, because I’d seen him start running towards me. I started running when he picked up the washing line pole. He literally chased me all the way round the back of the house with the washing line pole, a wooden one.
“I knew this wasn’t Shek at this point. I thought this is somebody else right now. I thought Shek was hallucinating.”
He said Mr Bayoh had caught up with him, sat on top of him and thrown several punches, but that he had suddenly stood up and was “calm”.
Mr Saeed said he told Mr Bayoh’s partner, Colette Bell, about the fight and she later called him to ask if they had fought in the kitchen as it was a “mess”.
He blamed the drugs the pair had taken that night for the incident, saying: “Shek is not a dangerous person.
“It’s just unfortunate what happened, you know and substances are used, some people’s personalities do change for the better or for the good.
“But it wasn’t Shek’s fault. You know, he didn’t know that he was taking substances that would change our personalities.
“I mean, both our intentions were to be happy and have a good night.”
It was decided that Mr Saeed would give evidence to the inquiry in another setting at a later date.
Mr Bayoh died on May 3 2015 in Kirkcaldy following an incident involving officers of Police Scotland.
The inquiry, before Lord Bracadale, continues.