Retired detective chief superintendent Lesley Boal was asked about a 'race hypothesis' after Mr Bayoh died while in police custody in 2015.
A detective said it was “blindingly obvious” after Sheku Bayoh’s death that “race was the main factor” in the police response, an inquiry has heard. Father-of-two Mr Bayoh, 31, died after he was restrained on the ground by six police officers in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on May 3, 2015.
Ms Boal said the officers involved were treated as witnesses by both Police Scotland and the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner rather than suspects. She said there were “tumbleweed moments” at a meeting with lead investigators Pirc at 11.30am, and her suggestions were met with silence. “A man had died in police custody and he was a black man. This was the major issue here. From what had happened in other parts of UK, from previous incidents, it was so serious. Of course it was a critical incident. A black male had died following restraint by police officers. Of course race was the main factor in terms of how the officers had dealt with it.”
However the officers refused to do so, the inquiry heard, as advised by the Federation which represents rank-and-file officers. Ms Boal said she felt it might have been “beneficial” for Pirc to make it clear the officers’ status was as witnesses.
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