Now public inquiry will rule if Sheku was victim of racism
A PUBLIC inquiry will be held into allegations of police brutality surrounding the death of a father in police custody.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf told MSPs the probe would investigate the ‘circumstances leading up to and following’ the death of Sheku Bayoh.
Mr Bayoh, 31, died in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on May 3, 2015, after being pinned to the ground by officers following reports he had been seen acting erratically in the street and carrying a knife.
It sparked claims he had been subjected to violent treatment because of his race. The decision to hold an inquiry comes after the Lord Advocate said on Monday that, following an internal Crown Office review, no officers would face prosecution.
Mr Bayoh’s sister Kadi Johnson, 41, said: ‘The last four-anda-half years haven’t been easy for us. We want this inquiry to mean something and Sheku’s death not to have been in vain. His name has been tarnished in the past four years.’
Aamer Anwar, the lawyer representing Mr Bayoh’s family, said they were ‘deeply grateful’ to the Scottish Government and called it ‘an important first step’ in establishing the truth.
He said the inquiry ‘must identify each and every individual and organisation who must bear responsibility and accountability for this tragedy and the mishandling of the aftermath’.
Mr Anwar added: ‘We also believe that the inquiry must focus on whether institutional racism, discrimination, inequality and cultural attitudes were responsible for what occurred – to what extent did the life of Sheku Bayoh not count, or could have counted more?’
Mr Yousaf told Holyrood that Lord Advocate James Wolffe,
QC, felt a fatal accident inquiry ‘would not allow all the issues which require to be investigated to be addressed’.
He said: ‘It is imperative that the circumstances leading up to Mr Bayoh’s death and the events that followed are examined in full and in public.’
Mr Yousaf and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met relatives of Mr Bayoh at Holyrood yesterday before the announcement of the inquiry. Afterwards, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘We have taken the decision that we will establish a full public inquiry under the Inquiries Act as an alternative to a fatal accident inquiry.
‘Part of the reasoning for that is that a fatal accident inquiry would only be able to look at the circumstances leading up to the death of Sheku Bayoh, whereas a public inquiry will be able to look at what happened after his death as well.’
Mr Yousaf added: ‘For any independent scrutiny of this case to be rigorous and credible, it must address the question of whether or not Mr Bayoh’s race played a part in how the incident was approached and dealt with by the police.
‘In saying that, I am not pre-judging the answer to that question – that will be for the inquiry, which will be independent of ministers.’