Death of Sheku Bayoh

Sheku Ahmed Tejan Bayoh (30 September 1983 – 3 May 2015) died after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. His death sparked controversy, and an independent government inquiry following a police investigation.

Life
Bayoh was born in Sierra Leone. In 1995 he fled to the United Kingdom as an unaccompanied child to escape civil war in Sierra Leone. After living in London for five years, he moved to Fife, Scotland at the invitation of his sister, who had lived there since the 1990s. At the time of his death, Bayoh was training to be a gas engineer. He was a father to two sons.

Death
On the morning of 3 May 2015, Bayoh visited a friend's house to watch TV. His friends noticed he was acting out of character, after taking a cocktail of drugs including MDMA and Flakka. He thereafter left their property and headed to his home address. When he returned home, a fight broke out between Sheku and his friend Zahid Saeed. It is unknown why the fight broke out, however, when Zahid managed to run away, Sheku then took a large kitchen knife and took to the streets. Concerned neighbours called emergency services to report a black man with a knife acting erratically, chasing cars and trying to get into cars. Police were dispatched. Six Police Scotland constables arrived at the scene and within forty-two seconds they had confronted Bayoh with pepper spray and batons forcing him to the ground, cuffing his wrists and ankles. Prior to being restrained, Bayoh assaulted a female officer, PC Nicole Short by chasing her, punching her to the head forcing her to fall to the ground and thereafter stamped and kicked her as she lay unconscious in the middle of the road. Bayoh continued to fight against being restrained by police, and lost consciousness soon after being restrained. Officers immediately commenced CPR and called for an ambulance, however, tragically he was later pronounced dead in hospital. A post-mortem report revealed injuries to Bayoh's head and face, burst blood eye vessels (consistent with positional asphyxiation), bruising across his body, a fractured rib, and the presence of the street drugs MDMA and Flakka. His cause of death was recorded as 'sudden death in a man intoxicated…[drugs] whilst under restraint.

Police investigation
In the hours following his hospitalisation, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) began an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Bayoh's death. After 16 months, the PIRC submitted its investigation report to the Lord Advocate James Wolffe for review. In October 2018, the Lord Advocate gave his decision that no criminal, corporate or health and safety charges would be brought against the police involved. In December 2018, Bayoh's family requested a review of the decision after CCTV and mobile phone footage emerged of his encounter with police, which the family felt contradicted police accounts of events. The Lord Advocate upheld his previous decision stating that based on the evidence available, there would be no criminal proceedings against the police.

Independent public inquiry
In November 2019, the Scottish Government's Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf established an independent public inquiry into Sheku Bayoh's death. Judge Lord Bracadale was appointed as the Inquiry Chairman in January 2020. In May 2020, Yousaf announced the Terms of Reference of the Public Inquiry include establishing the circumstances of Bayoh's death; recommendations that might prevent similar deaths in the future; examination of investigation procedures excluding the Lord Advocate's investigation; whether events surrounding Bayoh's death and actions of the police were influenced by his 'actual or perceived race.'

In November 2022 Lord Bracadale announced that he envisaged the Inquiry continuing into 2024.