Ex-police officer says Sheku Bayoh attack turned world 'upside down'

Nicole Short was attacked by Sheku Bayoh in May 2015

The female police constable who was present on the day Sheku Bayoh died has said the events of that day have turned her world "upside down".

Speaking at a media conference in Glasgow, Nicole Short said: "I describe it as the old Nicole and the new Nicole. It's like my life was reset that day and I've spent every day since trying to rebuild it".

She was speaking as the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), the body which represents rank and file officers, attacked First Minister John Swinney for agreeing to meet Mr Bayoh's family.

The official inquiry into the death has been thrown into crisis after the resignation of chairman Lord Bracadale and the four counsel to the inquiry.

Sheku Bayoh died after being restrained by six police officers in Fife in 2015

Mr Bayoh, who was 31, died after being restrained by six police officers. He had been reported as carrying a knife and behaving erratically on a street in Kirkcaldy on 3 May 2015.

He was not carrying the knife when officers arrived at the scene, though police said one was recovered feet from where he was restrained.

Mr Bayoh lost consciousness during the struggle with officers and later died in hospital.

Ms Short was one of the first officers on the scene and has previously described being attacked by Mr Bayoh, being punched by him on the back of the head and being told by a colleague that she had been stamped on while lying wounded on the ground.

This led to her retirement on ill-health grounds.

Sitting alongside SPF general secretary David Kennedy and lawyer Peter Watson on Wednesday, Ms Short said she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and described the ongoing effects of what happened that day.

"It's always there," she said. "It's the first thing you think of in the morning and the last thing you think of at night.

"There's been times where I've just been in my living room and it will appear on the news and then it shakes it all back up again and then it's phone calls to my family, you know, who help bring me back down again.

"I describe it as I go into orbit, mentally, and then it takes me a wee while to come back down. I still speak to an NHS psychologist today. They've been brilliant."

"There's a part of me that died that day and just never came back. I work hard to find some other things that I enjoy," she added.

Speaking later, the Bayoh family's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said: "There is only one person that died that day and it was a 31-year-old unarmed black man, a father of two boys, suffering a mental health crisis due to drugs he took.

"He died as a result of restraint by up to six officers - with half a tonne weight on top of him - those are the facts."

Nicole Short was speaking next to David Kennedy of the SPF (left) and lawyer Peter Watson (right)

The Sheku Bayoh inquiry began in November 2020 under the chairmanship of Lord Bracadale.

The inquiry has been looking into how the police dealt with the aftermath, the investigation into Mr Bayoh's death and whether race was a factor.

In 2021, an eye witness to the struggle between Mr Bayoh and police officers told a BBC Panorama investigation that the stamping attack on Ms Short "never happened".

The following year Kevin Nelson gave evidence the public inquiry into Mr Bayoh's death, saying Mr Bayoh had struck Ms Short on the head with a fist and moved away without stopping.

Meanwhile Lord Bracadale stood down months after refusing an SPF call to resign over concerns about his meetings with Mr Bayoh's family.

He said participants in the inquiry had "lost confidence in my conduct of the inquiry to such an extent that it cannot be retrieved".

Senior counsel to the inquiry Angela Graham KC, Laura Thomson KC and Jason Beer KC resigned two days later, as did junior counsel Rachel Barrett and Sarah Loosemore.

Mr Bayoh's family and their lawyer have repeatedly insisted Lord Bracadale did nothing wrong and have spoken of feeling "totally betrayed" by the criminal justice system after the resignation.

The inquiry has heard all of its evidence and its final stage will be the hearing of closing submissions.

Ms Short said she would like to see a new chair appointed and the rest of the inquiry conducted "on a level playing field".

She denied race played a role in the decisions made by her and her fellow officers that day. Ms Short also paid tribute to her colleagues.

"They saved my life that day. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them intervening and I'll always hold a special place in my heart for them," she said.

"They mean the world to me. I'll never be able to repay them but their quick thinking and their bravery, I'll never forget, and I'll never be able to thank them enough."

David Kennedy used the event to criticise the first minister in a statement which said: "The first minister's intervention undermines the prospect of a fair and transparent investigation.

"If we move to a situation where police officers do nothing to stop someone armed with a knife, for fear of being accused of racism, we will be powerless to protect the public.

"It cannot be right that we have a first minister who seemingly doesn't care at all about a police officer who was seriously injured in the line of duty, but who does express support for the family of an individual who armed himself with a knife and terrified ordinary people on their way to work."

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "The first minister has written to the Scottish Police Federation to confirm he is happy to meet Ms Short and her colleagues.

"The Scottish government is committed to the supporting the public inquiry and establishing the relevant facts surrounding Sheku Bayoh's death. The immediate priority is to appoint a new chair to enable the inquiry to complete its work."

Former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf also met the family of Sheku Bayoh.