29 min
Episode four: The death message Sheku Bayoh: The Inquiry
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- News
"I remember asking them because I remember wanting to know what had happened. I mean, he’s not just dropped down dead. And they just said that a passer-by had found him dead on the street." Collette Bell, Sheku's partner
It’s now eight years since Sheku’s loved ones were told by police that he had died. That trauma, they say, was compounded by how the news was broken to them.
They claim that a catalogue of errors, miscommunications and lies within hours of Sheku’s death led to a total breakdown of trust that can’t be regained. Police, meanwhile, admit errors were made but insist the intention was never to misrepresent the truth.
In this episode we’ll hear what Sheku’s partner, Colette, and his older sister Kadi, have told the inquiry about how the news was broken to them, the way details of Sheku's contact with police was held back and the impact that had on the trust they had for the police.
And we’ll also find out what Police Scotland has to say about the decisions made in the hours following the tragic events on the 3rd of May.
Written and produced by Karin Goodwin
Research by Tomiwa Folorunso
Recording, editing & sound design by Halina Rifai
Original music by Alan Bryden
Listen to all the evidence from the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry, or find out how to get a ticket to attend in person at www.shekubayohinquiry.scot
To make this podcast we’re spent hours listening to all of the evidence so we can summarise it for you, our listeners. And we need your support to do more.
Join us at theferret.scot/subscribe and get three months free with the code PODCASTOFFER
Script for episode four: The death message
INTRO:
Karin: Early on Sunday, 3 May 2015 Police Scotland’s control room starts to receive calls.
CLIP 1: Hello, there’s a black man, a black man with a knife on Hayfield Road in Kirkcaldy
https://www.shekubayohinquiry.scot/node/170
Time code [5-9seconds]
Police arrive at the scene and within minutes Sheku Bayoh is down on the ground.
After being restrained by up to six officers, he stops breathing.
Many details of what happened that morning are in dispute. His devastated family are still searching for answers.
They want to know what role race played in Sheku’s death. They claim he is Scotland’s George Floyd.
CLIP 3: [From Kadi interview] Sheku died here in Scotland. And we as a family are fighting for changes to happen in Scotland. No family should suffer the way that we are suffering.
Police refute this.
Now a public inquiry - launched in May 2022– is trying to find out what really happened.
CLIP 3:
Timecode: 13:33
Its purpose is to seek to ascertain the truth. And to that purpose I am fully committed.
a href="https://www.shekubayohinquiry.scot/hearings/preliminary-hearing-1" rel="noopener noreferrer"...
"I remember asking them because I remember wanting to know what had happened. I mean, he’s not just dropped down dead. And they just said that a passer-by had found him dead on the street." Collette Bell, Sheku's partner
It’s now eight years since Sheku’s loved ones were told by police that he had died. That trauma, they say, was compounded by how the news was broken to them.
They claim that a catalogue of errors, miscommunications and lies within hours of Sheku’s death led to a total breakdown of trust that can’t be regained. Police, meanwhile, admit errors were made but insist the intention was never to misrepresent the truth.
In this episode we’ll hear what Sheku’s partner, Colette, and his older sister Kadi, have told the inquiry about how the news was broken to them, the way details of Sheku's contact with police was held back and the impact that had on the trust they had for the police.
And we’ll also find out what Police Scotland has to say about the decisions made in the hours following the tragic events on the 3rd of May.
Written and produced by Karin Goodwin
Research by Tomiwa Folorunso
Recording, editing & sound design by Halina Rifai
Original music by Alan Bryden
Listen to all the evidence from the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry, or find out how to get a ticket to attend in person at www.shekubayohinquiry.scot
To make this podcast we’re spent hours listening to all of the evidence so we can summarise it for you, our listeners. And we need your support to do more.
Join us at theferret.scot/subscribe and get three months free with the code PODCASTOFFER
Script for episode four: The death message
INTRO:
Karin: Early on Sunday, 3 May 2015 Police Scotland’s control room starts to receive calls.
CLIP 1: Hello, there’s a black man, a black man with a knife on Hayfield Road in Kirkcaldy
https://www.shekubayohinquiry.scot/node/170
Time code [5-9seconds]
Police arrive at the scene and within minutes Sheku Bayoh is down on the ground.
After being restrained by up to six officers, he stops breathing.
Many details of what happened that morning are in dispute. His devastated family are still searching for answers.
They want to know what role race played in Sheku’s death. They claim he is Scotland’s George Floyd.
CLIP 3: [From Kadi interview] Sheku died here in Scotland. And we as a family are fighting for changes to happen in Scotland. No family should suffer the way that we are suffering.
Police refute this.
Now a public inquiry - launched in May 2022– is trying to find out what really happened.
CLIP 3:
Timecode: 13:33
Its purpose is to seek to ascertain the truth. And to that purpose I am fully committed.
a href="https://www.shekubayohinquiry.scot/hearings/preliminary-hearing-1" rel="noopener noreferrer"...
29 min