Sheku Bayoh: Family want answers after three-year wait

Sheku Bayoh died in Kirkcaldy in May 2015

The family of a man who died after being restrained by police has criticised the almost three-year wait for the Crown Office to decide whether officers should face criminal charges.

Sheku Bayoh, 31, lost consciousness after being restrained by officers in Kirkcaldy in May 2015.

The family said it would call for a public inquiry if it is decided officers should not face prosecution.

The Crown Office said it "recently met with the family to keep them informed".

'It hurts a lot'

Mr Bayoh's sister Kadi Johnson said the family "wants to know why it's taken so long" for a decision to be made on criminal charges, with the third anniversary of his death now approaching.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) first submitted a report into the incident to the Crown Office in August 2015.

"We want whoever is responsible to be held responsible," she told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

"This has really changed our lives. Waiting for three years, not knowing how our brother died. It hurts a lot.

"They have taken away so many chances that we had with our brother.

"Mum is so devastated. She cries every day for our baby boy. It has changed our lives."

The family and their lawyer Aamer Anwar said that if the Crown Office decides the police force and officers involved should not face charges they will call for an immediate public inquiry.

'CS spray and batons'

Mr Bayoh died on Sunday 3 May 2015.

Police had reacted to reports that a man - later identified as Mr Bayoh - was behaving erratically and brandishing a knife.

His family's lawyer said he was not carrying a weapon when he was stopped, although the BBC understands a knife was later found nearby.

He was restrained by up to six officers using CS spray and batons.

A toxicology report later said that ecstasy had been found in Mr Bayoh's system, as well traces of psycho-stimulant A-PVP, sometimes called Flakka.

The family said that if officers do not face prosecution, CCTV footage of Mr Bayoh's arrest and last moments - which has never been made public - must be released.

Ms Johnson said she was left "very shocked" when she first watched the footage.

"We would like the general public to see it so they can understand exactly what happened. They [the police] painted him to be a bad guy," she added. "We've got nothing to hide."

Mr Anwar told the BBC: "We've always said that if Sheku Bayoh broke the law then police had a right to act. But any force they used had to be reasonable and it had to be proportionate.

"The question for the family arises, 'If the police had not attended, would Sheku have been alive?', and I believe yes."

The Crown Office said it "recently met with the family of Sheku Bayoh, and their legal team, to keep them informed about the status of the investigation".

It said the investigation was "ongoing and requires to be completed prior to any decision on whether there should be criminal proceedings".

Police Scotland said it had been "committed to cooperating with the Pirc and the Crown Office throughout the investigative process".

It said it could not comment further while the Crown Office's investigation was ongoing.

Watch the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel.