RELATIVES of Sheku Bayoh, the father-of-two who died in police custody in Fife, have said they want “results rather than broken promises” after meeting the woman leading the inquiry into the death.
They told Kate Frame, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC), yesterday that their confidence in the body had been shattered in the weeks following Bayoh’s death on May 3, after he was restrained by officers responding to a call in Kirkcaldy.
A post mortem examination of the 31-year-old’s body proved inconclusive and forensic pathology experts have been sought from outside Scotland to help establish how he died. Relatives had been concerned that experts may have blamed a medical condition – “excited delirium” – which has been cited in other custody deaths.
The commissioner yesterday invited the family to help identify the additional experts.
Their lawyer Aamer Anwar told The National: “Last week the family welcomed the Lord Advocate’s offer to work with the family on the selection of experts.
“Today we agreed to share the findings of our expert Dr Nat Cary with the PIRC and details of suitable experts will be provided to PIRC in the next few days.”
He added: “PIRC’s identification of two pathologists who supported the controversial theory of excited delirium was the final straw.
“Fortunately the Lord Advocate and the Commissioner Kate Frame have made it clear that it is important that ‘Sheku’s family have confidence in the objectivity of those experts instructed’ and reassured them that the Crown will instruct further experts.”
Anwar said the family also raised questions about the independence and authority of PIRC, its “extremely close” relationship with Police Scotland and its failure to counter “deliberate lies fed into the public domain by police sources”.
“The Bayohs spoke out because they believed PIRC’s investigation was fatally flawed and more concerned about protecting the police from criticism than holding them to account,” said Anwar.
“The family had cited allegations of police malpractice which goes to the heart of this investigation, yet appeared to be ignored by the PIRC.”
He said the family demanded justice and impartiality and took “no comfort” in their belief that PIRC was “unfit, under-resourced and lacking powers” to investigate Bayoh’s death.
“The family welcome the Scottish Government’s national review of Police Scotland, but if it is to be more than a ‘cosmetic exercise’ then they cannot afford for PIRC to be seen publicly as a toothless regulator which only serves to whitewash police wrongdoing.
“To this end the Bayohs respect the commissioner’s willingness to meet with them in what was a very robust and difficult meeting to hear their concerns, but if confidence is to be restored they will expect her to deliver results rather than more broken promises.”
Following the meeting, a spokesman for the PIRC said the family had been updated on the work undertaken so far.
“The commissioner considered that today’s meeting was constructive and welcomed the opportunity to listen to the family’s concerns and confirmed that they are being addressed through a robust investigation,” he said.
The spokesman added that central to that aim was giving the family a clear understanding of what caused Bayoh’s death.
He said: “To this end, a number of expert forensic pathologists have been commissioned, on the instructions of the Lord Advocate, to further investigate and provide an opinion on how Sheku Bayoh died.
“The commissioner today invited the family to participate in the process of identifying additional experts. Once all expert reports are completed they will be passed to the Lord Advocate.
“The Commissioner reassured the family that she and her team of investigators are objectively exploring all lines of enquiry and has encouraged the family to contribute to that process.”
The PIRC has submitted an interim report to the Crown Office and will publish its full report later.
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