A former police officer described how she feared Sheku Bayo would kill her during the investigation into his death.
Nicole Short was one of the police officers at the scene, responding to reports of a man armed with a knife in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in May 2015.
Mr Bayo, 31, died after being detained by officers.
The former officer said during the investigation that Mr. Bayo was in a “pushing” position and managed to lift three police officers from the ground.
She said: “I can’t say for sure who was where, but I just remember Mr. Bayo, I’m sure he was in something like the press and he was trying to get off the ground.
Read more related articles Read more related articles
“I just remember thinking, ‘These are three of the biggest boys on the shift, and he manages to get them up.’ It was like nothing I’ve ever seen in my life.
Angela Graham, a senior adviser to the investigation, asked Ms. Short if she could remember where her colleagues were.
Nicole Short (center) arrives at the Capital House in Edinburgh to publicly investigate Sheku Bayo’s death. (Image: PA Wire)
Ms. Short said she “can’t say for sure,” but recalled the three officers “fighting” Mr. Bayo, whom she described as “just overcoming them.”
She added: “He just wanted to get over them, if you know what I mean, and I just remember being horrified.
“I was sincerely convinced that he would get up and finish me off.”
Ms. Short describes how Mr. Bayo was surrounded by officers with one officer on each of his arms.
In her first witness statement related to the incident, Ms. Short said Sheku Bayo was “crazy with superhuman strength.”
She was asked by Ms Graham what she meant by that, to which Ms Short replied: “I would say that superhuman strength originally came with Pava (pelargonic acid vanillalamide spray) and CS spray, which have absolutely no effect. on him.
“Next was the strength he showed by lifting these three male officers from the ground.
She believes the level of restraint is “fully in line” with the violence and resistance shown by Mr Bayo.
After the incident, the former employee was taken to hospital for treatment.
She told the investigation how she felt after the events that led to Sheku Bayo’s death. Ms. Short said: “I was in physical pain. Pain in the head, knees, arms, sides.
“Emotionally, I just felt absolutely shattered, to be honest.
“I burst into tears in the van I compare to when a child really cries. I was trembling with fear, adrenaline, I couldn’t catch my breath.”
Ms. Short said it was “not in her head” at the time that the officers were taller than Mr. Bayo, whom she later learned was 5 feet 10 inches.
Did you know that you can keep up with the latest news by subscribing to our daily newsletter?
We send a morning and lunch newsletter covering the latest headlines every day.
We also send updates to the coronavirus at 5pm on weekdays and a summary of the stories you should read for the week on Sunday afternoon.
Registration is easy, simple and free.
You can put your email address in the registration field above, click Subscribe and we will do the rest.
You can also register and view our other newsletters here.
Ms. Graham asked what made Mr. Bayo’s demeanor make her feel like he was the most “scary, crazy man” she had ever seen in her life.
Ms. Short replied: “Walking on a mission, not listening to a word they say. There was nothing there. His pupils were large and black. Nothing we said was registered, he just did what he wanted.
“The scariest thing for me was to see that the spray didn’t work on him.
“He was so out of control.”
Ms. Short was asked if they would have used the same tactics if Mr. Bayo had been white.
She replied: “The actions will be the same. His skin color had nothing to do with how we responded to that call.
Read more related articles
On Tuesday morning, the investigation found out that Ms. Short had run away from Mr Bayo after being “terrified” before falling to the ground after being hit in the head.
Nicole Short said she felt “scared” and “scared” when she arrived at the scene.
The investigation said Ms Short was “permanently disabled” due to injuries she received on the day of Mr Bayo’s death.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr Bayoh’s death and whether race was a factor is being conducted at Capital House, Edinburgh.
Ms. Short, who the investigation heard was 5 feet 1 inch tall, was one of the officers answering 999 calls that Mr. Bayo, 31, was carrying a knife on the downtown Hayfield Road shortly after 7 p.m.
Mr Bayo, 31, died after being detained by officials in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in 2015.
Describing how she arrived at the Hayfield Road scene, she said: “I was scared, I was scared, I felt my priority was to deal with what was in front of me.”
Last week, computer Craig Walker said he had seen Mr. Bayo “print” on Pc Short.
Supporters of Sheku Bayo’s family knelt outside the investigation on Tuesday morning.
Mr Bayo’s mother, Amina Bayo, and his sister, Cady Johnson, arrived to chant “There is no justice, no peace, no racist police” by some 50 protesters.
Their lawyer, Aamer Anwar, was present with the family.
Read more related articles
Speaking about Mr Bayo’s family, Mr Anwar said: “They have been fighting for justice for about seven years and this fight is not over.”
Ms. Bayo thanked the protesters for coming to show solidarity with the family before the evidence was heard.
Roddy Dunlop QC, representing Ms. Short and another officer, said: “It would be naive to think that the events of that day did not have a significant impact on the lives of the families of the police officers present on stage that day.”
Mr Dunlop said there had been accusations of racism against these officers and that “such denigration has a lasting effect”.
The investigation into the immediate circumstances leading to Mr Bayo’s death, how the police dealt with the consequences, the next investigation and whether race is a factor continues.
Add Comment