Sheku Bayoh: Officer broke rib in resuscitation bid

Sheku Bayoh died on 3 May 2015 after he was detained by officers in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

A police officer has told an inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh that he accidentally broke Mr Bayoh's rib while performing CPR on him in a Fife street.

Mr Bayoh, 31, died after being restrained by officers in Kirkcaldy in May 2015 after they received reports of a man armed with a knife.

PC Craig Walker was continuing evidence he started giving on Thursday.

He said that when he was being trained he was told a rib could break while CPR was being carried out.

He also confirmed that CS spray and Pava spray was used while Mr Bayoh was being restrained.

• Race did not play a part, says Sheku Bayoh officer

• Nurse saw Sheku Bayoh carrying knife, inquiry told

• Scotland is a racist country - Sheku Bayoh sister

PC Walker has been describing how he and colleagues confronted and restrained Mr Bayoh following reports he had been attacking vehicles in Hayfield Road while carrying a knife.

He said he saw Mr Bayoh chasing his colleague, PC Nicole Short who fell to the ground. He said he then saw Mr Bayoh stamping on her back.

PC Walker said he and his colleague PC Alan Paton had tried to spray Mr Bayoh with incapacitants, but their sprays did not appear to have any effect on him.

Shoulder charge

Under questioning from inquiry counsel Angela Grahame, PC Walker said he initially decided to strike Mr Bayoh with a baton.

However, he decided to shoulder-charge him instead as another officer was in an "altercation" with Mr Bayoh.

He said: "I just decided that the baton wasn't the best option. And that to get him on the ground to get some sort of control over him would have been the best option.

"So I dropped the baton and proceeded with the shoulder-charge."

He added that there was an exchange of punches while they were on the ground.

PC Walker said he was not punching Mr Bayoh at full force, describing it as "pulled punches delivered tactically" to make him put his hands to his face which would allow him to be handcuffed.

He told Ms Grahame he thought the force he used at this point was reasonable, saying: "He's certainly shown violent behaviour at that point."

He said he did eventually succeed in getting handcuffs on Mr Bayoh's wrists but he denied lying on top of him.

At one point, another officer tried to use a baton to lever one of Mr Bayoh's arms from underneath him in order to apply handcuffs.

A video was played to the inquiry showing CCTV footage overlaid with police radio messages exchanged at the time.

At one point, a radio message saying "officer injured" was heard.

Other officers arrived to assist with the restraint of Mr Bayoh.

The inquiry before Lord Bracadale is examining the immediate circumstances leading to the death of Mr Bayoh, how the police dealt with the aftermath, the following investigation, and whether race was a factor. The inquiry continues.