By Zak Williamson

The public inquiry, set up by Justice Secretary Humza Yousef in 2019 entered its second stage last week and is trying to determine whether the circumstances of the incident were racially motivated.  

The inquiry was initially set up to seek justice for Bayoh but also to prevent similar incidents from occurring in Scotland again.  

A report from the BBC shows that Police Training Safety Officer Martin Graves has suggested that the officers’ approach to the situation made it difficult for things to be resolved in a peaceful manner.  

Graves believes that a more considerate approach would have allowed things to turn out differently: 

‘”If you think of it as a ladder, it’s quite difficult to try and then climb back down the ladder once you have came in at a certain level. It’s a lot easier to come in at a lower level and then escalate from there.” 

Bayoh, a 31-year-old black man living in Fife was violently restrained by police constables and held down until he lost consciousness in 2015. He later passed away in the hospital.  

The incident occurred after police were responding to reports of an individual with a knife in the Kirkaldy area, where upon seeing Bayoh, they responded in a violent manner, using pepper spray and batons to subdue the reported assailant.  

This incident sent shockwaves throughout Scotland, with many believing the circumstances surrounding Bayoh’s death to have been driven by his race, with one of the constables at the scene reportedly partaking in racist behaviour in his personal life.  

The police officials involved in Bayoh’s death claim that they acted in self-defence after he reportedly assaulted a female officer, punching her to the floor and standing on her head.  

These reports have been disputed, however, as no evidence of severe injuries was found.  

Although the incident was back in 2015, there are those who believe that justice was not served for Bayoh’s death, with no charges brought to the police constables involved in the incident after a Police Scotland investigation in 2018.  

The recent report about the police’s behaviour comes after Bayoh’s family received racist abuse after his sister said that she ‘no longer felt safe in Scotland.’  

Bayoh is survived by two sons and his partner, Collette Bell who has been outspoken in his defence.