Sheku family vow to take police to court
Officers could face a private prosecution over death in custody
THE family of a man who died in custody amid claims of police brutality are planning a private prosecution of Scotland’s crisis-stricken single force.
A report for the Crown Office into the death of Sheku Bayoh is being drawn up by the police watchdog.
But the Scottish Daily Mail has learned that Mr Bayoh’s legal team are ‘seriously’ investigating the possibility of a private prosecution of the force and of individual officers.
Mr Bayoh died last year after being arrested and restrained in the street, sparking a row over his treatment at the hands of officers who are accused of using excessive force.
The development poses another challenge for Police Scotland’s top brass just two months after Chief Constable Phil Gormley took over as head of the force following a string of scandals including Mr Bayoh’s death.
The Mail revealed in October last year that senior prosecutors are studying the possibility of putting Police Scotland on trial for the 31-yearold’s death.
The Police and Investigations Review Commissioner (PIRC) is examining the case but the cause of death has yet to be formally established by medical experts.
When it is finalised – which is expected to hap-
‘Why should it be different from an attack by a gang?’
pen soon – a formal PIRC report will be submitted to the Crown Office.
But Mr Bayoh’s legal team are considering launching a private prosecution if Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland, QC, decides against pursuing formal legal action against the force – which would be unprecedented in Scotland.
A source close to the case, who did not want to be named, said: ‘ Private prosecution is something that is being seriously considered and it would be a prosecution of the force itself and indeed the individual officers involved.
‘It is a clear-cut case; if someone was assaulted by a gang of people outside a nightclub, there would be no hesitation in prosecuting them. Why should this be any different?’
The source said the legal team is closely monitoring the attempt to launch a private prosecution of bin lorry driver Harry Clarke who fell unconscious at the wheel of his vehicle, causing an accident that led to six deaths in Glasgow.
Families of some of the victims will seek to persuade judges at a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh later this month to permit a private prosecution of Mr Clarke after the Crown controversially decided not to take legal action against him.
Commenting on Mr Bayoh’s death, Mr Mulholland said last October that ‘ a decision will be taken at the end of this extremely complex i nvestigation as to whether or not criminal proceedings should be raised’.
But the Crown Office is considering legal action against the police force, rather than individual officers involved in the incident.
Any move to take the police and individual officers to court over the scandal would have major repercussions for the force, which has been mired in other controversies.
It is possible police could face a charge under the Corporate Man- slaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. This applies to organisations, including police services, which can be prosecuted if the way in which their activities are managed causes a person’s death and ‘amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased’.
Mr Bayoh died in Kirkcaldy, Fife, near where he lived with his partner Collette Bell on May 3 last year.
The father-of-two was confronted by several officers after members of the public called police to report a man wielding a knife and acting erratically. It is understood Mr Bayoh had taken ecstasy. He was no longer carrying a knife when the police arrived but one was later found nearby.
It is alleged officers used CS spray, pepper spray and batons to restrain Mr Bayoh. Wrist and ankle restraints were also used. A postmortem examination showed he had nearly 30 injuries on his head, chest, lower legs and left arm.
The cause of Mr Bayoh’s death remains ‘inconclusive’, although his family believe he died of ‘positional asphyxiation’ when police officers brought him to the ground and restrained him.
The Lord Advocate has confirmed that a fatal accident inquiry will be held and the Crown Office said it is awaiting the PIRC report.
Last night a spokesman for the PIRC said the investigation into Mr Bayoh’s death was ‘ongoing’ and a report would be submitted to the Lord Advocate in due course.
Assistant Chief Constable Kate Thomson of Police Scotland said that because of the ongoing PIRC investigation ‘it remains inappropriate for us to comment’.