Sheku Bayoh inquiry: Detective's regret over breaking death news

Sheku Bayoh died in police custody in 2015

A detective has expressed regret over his decision to withhold information from Sheku Bayoh's partner as police broke the news to her that he was dead.

The officer said he and a colleague decided not to tell Collette Bell that Mr Bayoh was in police custody when he lost consciousness on 3 May 2015.

Det Insp Graeme Dursley told an inquiry that he would do things differently if the same thing happened again.

Mr Bayoh, 31, died in Kirkcaldy, Fife, after a violent confrontation.

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He never regained consciousness after being restrained by officers in the street, and was found to have suffered 23 separate injuries.

The inquiry is looking into the circumstances of the father-of-two's death, and whether race was a factor.

Det Insp Dursley - who was a detective sergeant at the time - said officers did not go into detail about what had happened when they informed Ms Bell of his death.

But he added they should have told her about the police's contact with Mr Bayoh at that time.

Addressing the inquiry, Det Insp Dursley said: "I think we could of, we should of. At the time we just didn't know how much detail to give and what was going on to be accurate and what wasn't."

An inquiry into Sheku Bayoh's death is examining whether race was a factor

Det Insp Dursley told senior counsel Angela Grahame KC: "I think I would have said to Collette there has been a call to the police, there has been some sort of contact, he's gone unconscious, he's gone to hospital, and he's passed away.

"Then there would be hundreds of questions off the back of that and you might not be able to answer these questions, but I think if something similar happened next week that's what I would want to do."

Ms Bell, who had a three-month-old baby with Mr Bayoh at the time of his death, previously told the inquiry she was initially told her boyfriend had been found by a passer-by.

Ms Grahame said Ms Bell had been under the impression he had been murdered.

'Black male dead'

In a statement the officer wrote the day after the death, he said a "black male had been found dead".

But in his police day book he wrote: "Tell Collette black male dead".

Det Insp Dursley told Ms Grahame: "That's a statement I compiled the day after. The only difference is I've got there is 'found dead' and in my daybook it's 'black male dead' and not 'found dead'."

He told the inquiry the daybook note was contemporaneous, written at 10:45 that day, and he added: "I remember thinking we have got to tell her and I wrote that down.

"I've written 'found' there the day after, however my recollection is we didn't go into the circumstances of Mr Bayoh being found dead because he wasn't found dead.

"He was found by the police and subsequently died."

Det Insp Dursley acknowledged it was important to deal with such custody cases effectively.

He added: "We are a public service and we are there for the public, and if there is any death that involves the police it's clearly really significant."

The inquiry, before Lord Bracadale, continues.