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PICTURED: Sheku Bayoh

THE FAMILY of a 31-year-old man who died after being restrained by officers in Scotland are suing Police Scotland over his death.

Sheku Bayoh, a father of two, died on a street in Kirkcaldy on May 3 2015.

Bayoh’s family have mounted a civil legal challenge against Police Scotland after no criminal action was taken against the police officers involved in the incident.

The family are suing Police Scotland for £1.85m in damages.

Kadi Johnson, Bayoh’s sister, said that the family’s ultimate goal was “justice for all, be they young, old, black or white”.

Aamer Anwar, the civil liberties lawyer who is representing the family, said the investigation into Bayoh’s death was a national disgrace.

Anwar said that the trainee gas engineer was sprayed with CS gas and pepper spray seconds after officers approached him and that they had forced him to face down on the ground as they applied handcuffs and leg restraints.

Eyewitness reports suggest that Bayoh has been wielding a knife, but his family have refuted these claims.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) delivered its final report on the incident in August 2016 and has described its investigation as “extensive and detailed”.

A PIRC spokesperson said: “At all stages throughout this independent investigation the PIRC has acted under the direction of the lord advocate who has ultimate responsibility for the investigation of deaths in Scotland.”

In 2015, The Guardian reported that close family members of one of the officers involved in restraining Bayoh alleged that the officer had violently assaulted his own parents and said that he “hated all black”.

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