Hundreds mourn Sheku Bayoh and protest Scotland's shameful police

It was both a sad though sunny day, but also a day of dignity, defiance and
determination as over 1000 gathered in Kirkcaldy, Fife in north east Scotland on
Sunday June 7th for the funeral of Sheku Bayoh, a 31 year old gas engineer,
who died last month in the custody of Police Scotland. The multinational crowd
including Sierra Leoneans from London, Edinburgh and Glasgow (many clad in
traditional national costume) headed by the countrys High Commissioner
(Ambassador) to the UK were marshaled by Shekus mainly white workmates
from the security business and the local gym. Dozens of mourners were wearing
the blue T Shirts that were Sheku Bayohs favourite colour, emblazoned with his
smiling face wearing a kilt.
The funeral march began with a procession from Hayfield Road where Sheku's
life was taken, and en route, the procession stopped outside the Kirkcaldy police
station for a two-minute silence at the end of which the crowd chanted "We Want
Justice". We dont expect the police to lie they must tell the truth.
The funeral took place at Dysart Muslim Cemetery where his friends and
relatives and members of the Kirkcaldy Mosque laid him to rest with a moving
ceremony of prayers, the placement of turf and flowers with a wreath saying
DADDY covered by a purple ribbon emblazoned with his name. A solitary bunch
of red roses from his partner Collette Bell was placed at his head by family
members. After prayers said by the local Imam, Shekus youngest child, just
months old, was held by an uncle to help sprinkle the purified water on his
fathers final resting place overlooking the picturesque Forth estuary.
After the funeral there was a press conference and public meeting attended by
over 500 people. Sheku's mother Aminita direct from Sierra Leone, explained
how she was lied to, arriving the day after police carried out an autopsy before
the family own national recognised pathologist could attend. His Sister Kadiiartu
Johnson a local nurse in the Victoria hospital where he was pronounced dead
was present. Shek to his friends was known as a lively friendly soul of the party
according to his brother-in-law Ade Johnson a local anti-racism campaigner of
long standing in Kirkcaldy. His partner Collette Bell spoke passionately about the

familys loss, and the two children, 3 sisters and mother he leaves behind.
Aamar Anwar, the family's lawyer, told those gathered "The family have never
asked for anything unreasonable they have simply asked for answers of what
happened." They have tried desperately to keep an open mind and they still try
to do so. He dispelled a number of myths circulated by the Police Federation
representatives of the nine officers involved.
1, Sheku was tackled by 4 police officers, and they were then assisted by 5 other
offices in 3 police care (1 unmarked) and 1 van.
2. Never was any lone officer particularly not the female officer ever with
Sheku alone.
3. No officer was stabbed at all never mind the reactionary Police Federation
Scotland lawyers lies about a female officer being repeatedly stabbed.
4. The knife supposedly found at the scene was bizarrely removed by the officers
in breach of all known police crime scene investigation procedures.
5. Collette Bells home was searched and things removed from her house without
consent.
6. Police gave out five different stories before eventually telling the family that
Sheku had died.
7. Shekus lifeless body arrived handcuffed and leg-restrained at the hospital
where his sister works. Furious medics demanded their immediate removal.
8. Contrary to reports of Sheku being a big man - at 5 10 he was the same
height and lighter than Anwar.
The independent investigation by the Police Independent Review Commission
(PIRC) into the events surrounding Sheku's death has been stalled by the
officers involved police, with interviews finally being given late last week a fully 32
days after the death on May 3rd by 8 of the 9 officers involved. Between them
these nine officers were involved in an incident with Sheku involving pepper
spray, pava spray, handcuffs, leg restraints and batons against the father of two.
No officers have yet been suspended from duty despite calls from campaigners,

the family. A legal loophole appears to suggest that while the Lord Advocate of
Scotland Frank Mulholland QC ordered an investigation, PIRC had no powers to
compel the officers to give evidence. This failure to talk a police wall of silence
gave police time to collude and prepare their notebooks and statements while
they all remained on duty. This could mean years of campaigning for justice for
the family through the courts.
There were calls from the floor for answers. From a Nigerian resident a simple
plea as to what were Sheku Bayohs last words as he was asphyxiated? Why the
level of force used? One suggestion was to make common cause with justice
groups in England and Wales, specifically The Monitoring Group/Tottenham
Rights; and Inquest. Local African residents reported a consistent pattern of
abuse harassment on the one hand, but also that years of community
development and police liaison work allowed to go down the drain as funding for
local equalities groups were drastically cut, thus disarming the community in the
face of more aggressive policing policy.
It had been widely assumed that Scottish society was free from the kinds of
racism that scars the rest of the UK. Since 1990 Inquest reports that 1,513
people have died in police custody in England and Wales and not a single officer
successfully prosecuted (Inquest). Only in 11 cases were there prosecutions for
killing disproportionately Black victims.
BAME deaths accounted for 17% of police-related fatalities in 2009, but these
ethnic groups made up just 12% of the population of England and Wales. (BurnMurdoch 2012)
Since 1990, there have been 9 unlawful killing verdicts returned by juries at
inquests into deaths involving the police and 1 unlawful killing verdict recorded by
a public inquiry, none of which has yet resulted in a successful prosecution.
(Inquest)
Stephen House the Police Scotland Commissioner (and former Strathclyde chief)
has a track record of increasing stop and search and Prevent-initiated anti-terror

surveillance and most bizarrely putting routinely armed Police on normal street
patrols in crime hotspots like Inverness city centre. All this done without political
approval by ministers and despite a Holyrood vote against it arming of police.
House was a former Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Commissioner in
London who was in overall charge (although himself on holiday) during the
unlawful killing of Jean Charles De Menezes - a case currently before the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
The fact that PIRC did not have the powers to compel officers to give statements
and they only did so after repeated attempts brokered by their so-called union the
Fed, raises deep questions about the credibility of the PIRC as a truly
independent investigator. Compared with the discredited IPCC in England, at
least it has the power to compel officers and suspend them from duty. 40 days
later the nine Kirkcaldy officers are still on duty PIRC has no suspension
powers. PIRCs investigation results will be eagerly awaited. In Holyrood
parliament, Scottish Justice Minister Michael Matheson was questioned by
Labour and LibDem MSPs on the obvious legal loopholes in the PIRC
arrangements. He replied saying hed await the outcome of the investigation and
see if PIRC ask for extra powers!
The 2013 laws establishing PIRC were the product of long time previous Justice
Minister Kenny McAskill (Mathesons immediate predecessor). McAskill who
once showed great leadership in the Al-Megrahi case also infamously told the
conference of Scottish Black police staff organisation SEMPER that there was
no institutionalised racism in the Scottish police.
The SNP government must quickly get a grip on the situation and reign in police
who are over shooting their powers. Many Black people in Scotland now do not
feel safe on the streets. The message a lack of prosecution, suspension or
accountability of the police involved sends, is that Black Lives Dont Matter in
Scotland.
"Things like that don't happen here" is a common refrain heard here. Its now
clear to many more people that these really do happen in Scotland. As the family
adjust to their new and unwanted role as leaders of a national human rights

campaign, and go through the steep learning curve of dealing with politicians,
campaigners and social movements, we can't afford to rest easy. We still have
some ways to go to get Justice for Sheku Bayoh.