Nurse ‘scared’ by Bayoh fought to save his life in hospital
A nurse who was scared by a man with a knife fought to save his life in hospital later on after he was restrained by police officers, an inquiry has heard.
Sheku Bayoh died on Sunday May 3, 2015 after he was detained by officers in Kirkcaldy, Fife, and Linda Limbert told the inquiry into his death that as she was driving to work at Victoria Hospital, he approached her car in Hayfield Road.
She said she was "very frightened", and told Angela Grahame QC, the inquiry's senior counsel :" he was charging at my car with his arms flailing about ."
Ms Limbert said she had seen him with a knife in his hand, and as he approached the car she drove off.
In nearby Hendry Road she called 999 and told the call handler :" He was trying to stop me. When I realised what he had in his hands I just drove."
On that day,m slim bert was a staff nurse at the Victoria Hospital. Later that morning, Mr Bayoh was sent to the resuscitation unit and she was one of the medical staff who helped fight to save his life.
He was brought in to accident and emergency, and Ms Limbert told the inquiry: "I don't know him, but i recognised him as the guy I had just seen."
When the 31-year-old arrived in hospital he was handcuffed and unresponsive, she said, and had ongoing CPR from ambulance and police crews at the scene. Ms Limbert said the handcuffs had to be removed, but did not interfere, and was with Mr Bayoh until he was declared dead.
She said she could not recall any injuries sustained to him, but said CPR and gaining IV access can cause injuries.
Earlier, the inquiry heard that Alan Pearson was driving with his wife in his car when mr bay oh was first seen in Temple hall Avenue in the Hayfield area of Kirkcaldy at around 7am. He told the inquiry that his wife "saw a man walking along the street with what appeared to be a knife in his hand".
"She says tome :' that guy' s got a knife,' and I thought: 'Don't be daft, it's 7 am on Sunday morning .'" after mr pearson dropped his wife off at his sister-in-law's house, he then started to make his way home, and in Hayfield Place saw the man look like he was trying to stop a passing taxi.
Mr Pearson said it looked like them an had banged on the car' s roof.
"Once the taxi sped off he did what anybody would do, he turned to face the taxi and face me, although not looking at me," he said.
"When he turned around he put his hands out, palms up, that's when I saw what looked like a knife in his right hand."
Mr Pearson then turned around and drove in a different direction. He described the knife as "maybe six or seven inches" long, but when he was shown a knife on a container at the Capital House inquiry, Mr Pearson told inquiry he could not recognise the blade being used as evidence, and that he only saw it from a distance.
The witness told the inquiry he was not scared, and added: "It's not as if he was coming towards my car, he was just standing there." Mr Pearson said he warned another driver, and then in Hendry Road called 999 and told the call handler :" There' s a guy in the middle of the street with a knife in his hands."
The inquiry, before Lord Bracadale, continues.