Documentary claims police cover-up in Fife man Sheku Bayoh death in custody case

Two officers had claimed father-of-two Sheku Bayoh carried out a stamping attack on a female police constable before he was brought to the ground and restrained by up to six officers.

However, now a witness to the incident told BBC Panorama the stamping attack “never happened” and was not true.

31-year-old Mr Bayoh died in May 2015 during the incident in the Fife town of Kirkcaldy in 2015.

A public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death has recently got under way which is also examining whether his race was a factor.

Recently, witness Kevin Nelson who was in a nearby house and saw events unfold over a garden hedge told BBC Panorama what he saw.

Mr Nelson claims he saw Mr Bayoh attempt to walk away from the officers, ignoring their commands, before being sprayed with CS spray.

He said Mr Bayoh retaliated and punched PC Short.

Asked if there had been any further contact with PC Short, he said: “No. He was running off… after the punch, there was no more attack on her at all.”

“I didn’t see him stamping at all or, other than the punch, any raised arms. After the punch, that was it. There was no more attack on her at all.”

Mr Nelson said Mr Bayoh ran off from where PC Short fell and was swiftly intercepted by the other officers.

Both officers claimed that the stamping attack happened against the female victim with one officer saying “I thought he had killed her.”

In her statement, PC Short did not mention she had been stamped on and she later said she was unsure if she was conscious, learning only about the alleged stamping attack when her colleagues told her about it afterwards.

The BBC said Mr Nelson’s account is supported by CCTV footage of the incident, acquired by Panorama.

Despite it being poor quality, the footage appears to show that once PC Short is knocked down by Mr Bayoh, the action moves away from her, and Mr Bayoh is brought down within five seconds.

The Scottish Police Federation said its officers had cooperated truthfully with investigators.

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